“The only thing that makes it an arthouse movie is because it’s in a foreign language,” Samuel Goldwyn told Variety of Antonin Baudry’s historical epic “De Gaulle,” adding that the film could easily play on 1,000 screens if it were in English. The remark came as three veteran U.S. distributors told Variety at the American French Film Festival on Thursday that French films winning major awards abroad increasingly fail to secure meaningful theatrical runs in the United States.
At the festival’s 30th anniversary — organized with the CNC and Variety and featuring 60 films and series — Robert Aronson, executive vice president of Cohen Media Group; John Gerrans, co-president of Strand Releasing; and Paul Hudson, CEO of Outsider Pictures, gathered for a panel. Together they have released hundreds of international films in America, but described a market squeezed by shrinking opportunities.
Palme d’Or Winners Gross a Fraction of “Amélie”
Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s “Amélie” grossed approximately $33 million domestically a quarter-century ago, while Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or winner “Anatomy of a Fall,” handled by Neon and winner of an Academy Award, earned around $5 million in the U.S., the distributors noted. The gap illustrates how the definition of a French-language box office hit has changed along with the health of the specialty market for foreign-language films.
Major Studios Outcompete Smaller Distributors for Films
Well-funded companies such as Neon, Netflix, Mubi, A24 and Sony Pictures Classics keep pursuing high-profile international films. Sony Pictures Classics recently acquired Jeunet’s “Violette” and Louis Clichy’s animated feature “Iron Boy,” and gave Rebecca Zlotowski’s “A Private Life,” starring Jodie Foster, a solid theatrical run earlier this year. But Gerrans said smaller distributors often lose the films they most want to sell. “We all see the same thing… And then Netflix buys it,” he said. Goldwyn, whose company released Pathé’s “The Three Musketeers” and “The Count of Monte Cristo,” said those French blockbusters have broader commercial potential than their limited exposure suggests.
Competition Intensifies for Limited-Release Screenings
Securing screens has become even harder than winning bidding wars. Aronson, whose Cohen Media Group owns the Landmark Theatres circuit, said the chain “keeps its own books and they have their own agenda and they need to be profitable,” so ownership does not guarantee bookings. Hudson described a brutal scramble for New York venues: “We’re all trying to get the IFC Film Center or the Quad or the Angelika to book the film… and there’s, I don’t know, 45 of us with all eight films trying to get them into these theaters.” Arthouse cinemas that once championed foreign-language films increasingly program Hollywood releases, repertory screenings and television series, while others have closed.
Streaming Revenue Collapses as Amazon Cuts Rates
As DVD revenues have largely disappeared, TV sales collapse and streaming licenses decline in value, independent distributors are left with fewer avenues to recover their investments. Hudson said Amazon Prime cut royalty rates from 10 cents per hour viewed to 1 cent, then to half a cent, prompting distributors to pull titles for Tubi, Roku, Pluto and YouTube. Aronson said platforms are no longer interested in single U.S.-only, after-theatrical streaming deals with independent distributors.
Festivals and Digital Platforms Expand Film Visibility
Aronson called film festivals “another tier of distribution,” a way most independent films get seen by anyone. Hudson is targeting younger moviegoers through Letterboxd, which has built a passionate Gen Z cinephile community, though he acknowledged that reaching that demographic without substantial marketing budgets remains a challenge. Gerrans is betting on word of mouth for “Flesh and Fuel,” while Hudson plans an extended theatrical rollout for “Congo Boy” from Black History Month through Juneteenth. French institutions including the CNC, Unifrance and Villa Albertine help generate awareness through festivals and talent travel.
Why Can’t American Audiences Find French Films in Theaters?
The distributors cited the two films as markers of a collapsed market: “Amélie” earned about $33 million domestically 25 years ago, while the Oscar-winning “Anatomy of a Fall” grossed roughly $5 million in the U.S.
Cohen Media Group has acquired “Moulin,” “Think Good” and “All About Corinne”; Strand Releasing has picked up “The Blood Countess,” “Flesh and Fuel” and “Daughters of Abraham”; Outsider Pictures holds “Congo Boy”; and Samuel Goldwyn Films released “De Gaulle” alongside transactional VOD.
Hudson uses Letterboxd to build community around releases, while Gerrans bets on distinctive premises like “Flesh and Fuel.” Even so, Gerrans said he cannot get his own teenage children to see his movies.
“Film’s commerce here, it’s not culture,” Hudson said. “We have no support from the government. I mean, everything we do is from our own pockets.”
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