The good surprises of the French box office of the week

Overall attendance is down this week, but several good performances can be distinguished.

After a moribund summer, French cinemas regained color in September, a traditionally slow month for the market. What is there to hope for a real rebound for the last quarter of 2025? A few good surprises allow us to maintain hope in the ambient gloom.

One battle after another towards the million

Still at the top of the weekly box office, One battle after another still attracted 300,000 spectators, for a decline of only -27%. More than 740,000 cumulative admissions are already a record for a Paul Thomas Anderson film, which sold 657,070 tickets with There Will Be Blood. The million is assured, a habit for Leonardo DiCaprio, a true darling of the French public. This is the 12th time in a row that he has crossed this threshold!

A simple accident already record

Crowned at Cannes last May and French candidate for the Oscar for best foreign film, A simple accident takes second place and signs the best score for the new releases of the week. With 192,000 tickets sold (220,000 AVP included) and a good average number of spectators per copy, Jafar Panahi has already broken his record for Taxi Tehran. A performance worthy of its Palme d’Or, belowAnatomy of a fall (338,000) or Anora (212,000), but above Without filter (163,000).

The phenomenon Sirat

Another film awarded at Cannes (Jury Prize and best soundtrack), Sirat continues to impress, four weeks after its release. More than 90,000 curious people went to discover Oliver Laxe’s trip with Sergi Lopez, in slight decline (-26%), which therefore exceeded the mark of 500,000 spectators and can aim for 700,000. For comparison, Sentimental Value by Joachim Trier (Grand Prix in Cannes), still available in a few theaters, peaked at 417,000 admissions.

The buzz Muganga

After his triumph in Angoulême, Muganga – He who heals packs the box office with 34% more admissions for its second week. Rare performance due to word of mouth, particularly maintained on TikTok. The success of this shocking biopic on Doctor Denis Mukwege (played by Isaach de Bankolé), 2018 Nobel Peace Prize winner, is reminiscent of that of Consentin 2023. And confirms the public’s appetite for strong historical subjects, such as Neither God nor Master which had exceeded 400,000 entries last year.

Finally, it is also necessary to highlight the phenomenon Sacred Heart. This Christian docu-fiction distributed by Saje (Win or die) is not in the top 10, but it sold more than 40,000 tickets this week with the best average admission per theater of the year, ahead of Lilo & Stitch !