The combined might of Hoppers from Disney/Pixar and Marsupilami from Pathé was not enough to maintain early 2026 momentum at the French box office as March produced 12.9 million admissions, marking a 28% drop from 17.9 million in February.
While March drove a 1.4% year-on-year rise over 12.7 million ticket sales in 2025 – when admissions fell to their lowest March level since 1999 excluding Covid-impacted 2020 and 2021), the first three months of 2026 have produced 46.7 million admissions, up 14.3% over last year.
Hoppers – released as Jumpers in France – led the month with more than 1.1 million tickets sold since the March 4 release. That was enough to usurp the live-action creature feature Marsupilami, which remains the highest-grossing film for the year-to-date after adding one million admissions for a 5.8 million running total.
Amazon MGM Studios’ Project Hail Mary launched at number one via Sony on March 18 with a solid 675,000 tickets in the first week, although the sci-fi adventure did not have sufficient rocket fuel to boost admissions to sky-high levels.
Local highlights
Among the French films wooing audiences in March were SND family inheritance comedy Family Price (Chers Parents), which added 518,500 to its 874,000 tally since the February 25 debut; Melisa Godet’s women’s shelter-set A Place For Her (La Maison Des Femmes) with 426,000 admissions through Pathé Films/Chapter 2 since the March 4 release; and Gaumont’s Second World War-set resistance drama Rays And Shadows (Les Rayons Et Les Ombres), which has sold 515,000 tickets after just two weeks in cinemas.
SND’s Hitchcock homage Murder In The Building (Le Crime Du 3eme Etage) has sold more than 366,000 tickets after three weeks in cinemas.
Hollywood blockbusters thin on the ground
Despite solid performances from French titles, Hollywood blockbusters were largely missing in action to keep the box office afloat as they have done in recent years through the likes of Dune: Part Two in 2023 and Creed III in 2022.
Ongoing tickets sales for Paramount’s Scream 7 and Marty Supreme (via Metropolitan Filmexport) played their part in luring film-goers. Both films have now managed just over one million admissions each since their late February releases.
March got a small boost of approximately two million admissions from the Printemps du Cinema initiative, when tickets cost just €5 Euros, however the number was down 9% from last year’s event.
April promise
April looks promising with high hopes for Universal’s April 1 release of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie in time for the Easter holiday that should woo younger audiences.
Apollo Films is also betting on Yann Samuell’s Santiago: The Camino Therapy (Compostelle) and releases the drama on around 600 screens in one of the widest debuts for a film this year. It has sold 117,000 tickets in advance screenings.
After a splashy late March Paris premiere, The Drama (Metropolitan) starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson should also entice moviegoers. French April releases looking to draw crowds include Julien Herve’s comedy sequel Ooh La La 2 (SND), Gilles Le Maistre’s live-action animal adventure tale The Desert Child (Studiocanal), and Just An Illusion (Gaumont) from the The Intouchables duo Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache.
Other potential hits include Antoine Fuqua’s Michael (Universal), Ready Or Not 2 : Here I Come (Disney), and a late April bow for The Devil Wears Prada 2 (Disney).
