Only two other French films awarded prizes at Cannes have done better: “La Vie d’Adèle” in 2013 and “Entre les Murs” in 2008.
With nearly 400,000 entries in one week, then some 600,000 in two weeks, Anatomy of a fall had already made an excellent start after its cinema release on August 23. But Justine Triet’s film continues to reach new heights. The Palme d’Or from the last Cannes Film Festival exceeded one million spectators in theaters on Saturday September 23, its distributor announced. “Bravo Justine Triet, Thank you to the spectators”wrote producer Marie-Ange Luciani on Instagram.
“It must be said: it’s a real performance. A Palme d’Or that exceeds a million entries is not that common, and it is even less so when it comes to a French Palme d’Or.”, underlines Thomas Gastaldi, film distribution consultant and specialist at the Cannes Film Festival. Over the last twenty years, Anatomy of a fall is in fact only the seventh film to surpass the symbolic milestone of one million admissions in France after receiving the most prestigious awards on the Croisette. And only the third tricolor to meet these two criteria, after The Life of Adele by Abdellatif Kechiche in 2013 (1,037,560 entries) and Between the walls by Laurent Cantet in 2008 (1,773,905 entries).
Drawing inspiration from news items, Anatomy of a fall traces the trial of a German author, accused at the assizes of the murder of her husband, in their chalet in the French Alps. Reaching a million admissions with such a film, “This was not won, itis a long (2h30), demanding film”adds the creator of the Wask.fr site, dedicated to the Festival. “When we pass a million entries, we become a social phenomenon. Clearly, whatsomething happened. The film opened itself up to another audience, not just that of the usual Palme d’Or fans. The story clearly touched a lot of women.”
A success that is exported
A success in France therefore for the director Justine Triet, but also beyond our borders. The film, already showing in Switzerland, Belgium, Greece and Slovenia, will soon arrive in the United States, New Zealand and the Netherlands. According to Unifrance, the organization in charge of exporting French cinema to the world, the 2023 Palme d’or is still in the top 5 in Belgium, and it is even ahead of the Hollywood juggernaut Oppenheimer in Greece. The feature film is also among the five most watched films in Switzerland in September.
“What’s great is that in terms of market share, we’re growing every day,” Jean Labadie, the film’s distributor, rejoiced on franceinfo at the time of release. “There have been fiascos in the history of the Palme d’Or, but there have also been a lot of very good results.”
The only shadow of an almost perfect picture: the non-selection of the film for the Oscar ceremony, in the United States, in March 2024. This is Dodin’s passion Bouffant, by Tran Anh Hung, who was finally chosen to represent France. Nevertheless, believes Thomas Gastaldi, “even if we are at the end of the exploitation, Justine Triet’s film should still benefit from a renewed visibility at the time of the Césars in France. Which could allow it to surpass The Life of Adele and to get a little closer to the score ofBetween the walls.”