Top Gun: Maverick was the most viewed film in Quebec cinemas in 2022 according to the annual report of the firm Cineac, while two Quebec feature films obtained more than 1 million dollars in receipts, that is December 23 and confessions. If the box office has not yet regained its pre-pandemic momentum and the market shares of Quebec cinema have fallen, distributors and theater owners are optimistic for 2023.
Top Gun: Maverick is the film that has been seen the most in Quebec cinemas in 2022 with box office receipts of more than $11 million. He is followed by Avatar: The Way of Waterstill showing, then by Minions: The Rise of Gru. Then there are three films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, sequels to Thor, Doctor Strange and Black Panther.
You have to wait until the 18e rank to find a Quebec film, December 23. However, the film written by India Desjardins and directed by Miryam Bouchard is still showing and it crossed the $2 million mark at the box office after the new year.
PHOTO BY KARINE DUFOUR, PROVIDED BY IMMINA FILMS
A scene from December 23
Quebec cinema market shares fell from 12.4% in 2021 to 7.3% in 2022, but gross revenues remained stable (around $8.9 million).
According to Patrick Roy, formerly of Seville Films and now head of the distribution house Immina Films, we must compare ourselves to the year 2019, that is before the pandemic, to have a true portrait of the situation. The market shares of Quebec cinema in 2019 were essentially the same as in 2022 (i.e. 7.6% in 2019, and 8.2% in 2018).
At the start of the pandemic, in 2020 and 2021, he recalls, fewer American films hit theaters than normal. This is why their market shares have increased from 71.7% to 83.2% from 2021 to 2022.
Patrick Roy is of course delighted with the first film officially distributed by Immina Films, December 23. “In a market that has not returned to normal and is still recovering, our expectations were a bit more cautious. »
A transitional year
The overall box office for Quebec cinemas increased from 2021 to 2022, going from $72,202,222 to $122,247,436, but the gap remains significant compared to 2019 ($176,751,882).
For Éric Bouchard, co-president of the Association of Quebec Cinema Owners, this is finally “better news”. He points out that the box office for the holiday season which has just ended is essentially the same as that before the pandemic and also recalls that the cinemas were closed during the first five weeks of 2022.
Optimistic for 2023? ” Completely ! “, he launches.
Studio uncertainty about movie releases seems like a thing of the past.
We begin to have predictability. Better is yet to come. It was so hard.
Éric Bouchard, co-president of the Association of Quebec Cinema Owners
“Reclaim Your Place”
In its press release, Cineac, a Quebec firm specializing in the compilation of box office receipts, indicates that “the Quebec film industry began in 2022 to regain its place”.
Outraged December 23alone confessions by Luc Picard topped $1 million at the box office with receipts of $1,385,967. The other three most-seen Québec films in theaters were Norbourg, you will remember me and Arlette.
PHOTO ERIC MYRE, PROVIDED BY LES FILMS OPALE
Luc Picard in confessions
Christian Larouche, head of the Films Opale distribution company, told The Press last december to consider themselves lucky for the success of the films Confessions, you will remember me and Arlette.
Our films were able to manage, but the public did not return to theaters as before.
Christian Larouche, President of Films Opale
Especially for films that are not American mega-productions, he had underlined, specifying that the same phenomenon is observed in the United States and in France.
Christian Larouche also remains optimistic. “I have confidence, people will come back to the cinema. »
Besides the box office
In its annual report, Mediafilm, the box which rates films from 1 to 7, speaks of a year under the sign of success, but also of “excellence” and “recognition”.
Quebec films have shone at international festivals, including Baby sitter from Monia Chokri to Sundance, Falcon Lake of Charlotte Le Bon in Cannes and A summer like this by Denis Côté in Berlin.
Otherwise, viking by Stéphane Lafleur and the documentary Geographies of Solitude by Jacquelyn Mills became respectively the 10e and 11e Quebec films to be given the rating of 2, or “remarkable”. “An unprecedented feat that goes down in history”, according to Mediafilm.
“This is the highest rating that can be awarded,” says Mediafilm editor-in-chief Éric Fourlanty. Rating 1 can only be assigned after 20 years. »
Whether viking and Baby sitter are Éric Fourlanty’s favourites, he praises the wide variety of Quebec films released in 2022: comedies, thrillers, documentaries, etc. “The diversity of film genres is a guarantee of richness,” he argues.