Record year for French cinemas

3D blockbusters help the cinema industry to its highest attendance levels since 1982

Published Wednesday 30 November 2016 - 16:16 Modified Wednesday 30 November 2016 - 16:16

CINEMAS in France have defied the economic crisis by recording their highest attendance levels in 27 years.

More than 200 million tickets were sold in 2009, according to new figures from the Centre National du Cinéma.

This is the second-best result in 40 years - only beaten by 1982, the year of Steven Spielberg's classic ET.

3D films gave a major boost to the industry, with Avatar and Ice Age 3 among the best-performers.

The CNC said a diverse range of about 20 films managed to record more than a million visitors in 2009.

The group said the growth looked to be continuing in 2010. Attendance in the first four months of the year is up 11% on the same period in 2009.

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Photo: Avatar - 20th Century Fox