The CNC, France’s central film body has heeded calls to transform the way it supports the theatrical distribution sector by increasing its distr
The CNC, France’s central film body has heeded calls to transform the way it supports the theatrical distribution sector by increasing its distribution aid by 10% or €5.3m to approximately €53m a year from September 1.
Some €3.3m of the total sum will be allocated to automatic support and €2m to selective support.
In France, films receive automatic support based on the number of ticket sales on a regressive basis, whereby titles that perform better at the box office are granted less distribution aid by the CNC.
Selective support is handled on a film-by-film basis and voted on by CNC-appointed committees of industry professionals.
In 2024, the CNC’s distribution fund supported the release of 272 modern films, 37 heritage films and 16 retrospectives, including Wang Bing’s Youth, Mohammed Ben Attia’s Behind The Mountains and Lawrence Valins’ Little Jaffna.
The revamped system is designed to better reward the success of what the CNC calls “middle-of-the-road films,” namely films that accrue between 200,000 and 500,000 admissions, the equivalent of €1.5m-€3.6m based on an average ticket price of €7.30.
Those films will now be able to receive automatic support with a return rate jumping from 47% to 73% of total ticket sales. The CNC has also added three additional brackets above one million admissions to benefit a more diverse pool of films, not only the strongest performers at the box office.
Before the reforms, films with over one million admissions no longer generated automatic support. With the modern reforms in place, films that exceed the one million admissions threshold will be able to receive such support, just less than films that are not as successful at the box office.
Previously, distributors that handled social media campaigns, digital marketing and press relations internally were penalised because these costs were not taken into account in the calculation of selective aid, but now they can include them.
In addition, companies applying for support will now be able to add second features and documentaries supported by the country’s Advance on Receipts scheme.
French distributors have welcomed the changes. “It’s a system where everyone wins – both smaller independent distributors and larger companies,” said Etienne Ollagnier, co-founder of indie French distributor Jour2Fête which also handles international sales via its The Party Sales arm.
“It’s a welcome increase in aid that already existed,” added Jour2Fête co-founder Sarah Chazelle. “It allows us to be better equipped to handle the current market that is very tough for distributors who are taking greater risks in investing in films without the guarantee of broadcasters boarding and that are more and more contingent upon a film’s performance in cinemas.”
The CNC is also planning to modernise its application procedures with initiatives including the creation of a specific aid for distribution companies for films for juvenile audiences and arranging for meetings between distributors and the CNC applying for aid on a “film-by-film” basis and for theatrical events like premieres and debates with audience participation.
CNC president Gaetan Bruel called the reforms “the culmination of a long process of reflection on the distribution sector.” He said: “[Film distributors] play an essential role in the film industry, contributing to the financing of films through advances granted to producers [and] by participating in the encounter between audiences and films through the costs they incur when films are released.”
He added: “This dual responsibility means that they share in the rewards of successes as well as being directly affected by failures, making their business highly uncertain.”
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