French DVD sales have dropped 10.7% in value and 4.1% in volume in 2007, according to the national film organization CNC. French consumers spent nearly €1.5 billion on 130.4 million DVDs, of which 540,000 were of the high-definition variety worth €14.3 million. For the second year in a row, French bought fewer DVDs than the previous year – minus 3.7%.

The average price of a DVD dropped 2.5% to €10.56, while the average price of new releases fell 3.7% to €19.56. Sales of DVD in the €17-20 range account for 27.1% of total revenue, compared to 24.2% in 2006. DVDs in the €20-25 price range captured 11.5% of the market versus 17.1% in 2006. As for sub-€5 disc, they accounted for 0.5% of total industry turnover and 5.5% in volume terms. The 2006 figures were 0.6% and 7.1% respectively.

Feature films continue to dominate the video market in terms of value, according to the CNC. Feature films took in €775.8 million, representing 52.4% of total market revenue in 2007.

The "non-feature film" category saw its revenue drop 9.9% over the year to 665.1 million euros ($972.2 million), representing 44.9% of the market, a significant change from 2006, when the category saw a 7.6% increase in sales.

With 47.7%, TV drama represents the largest slice of the non-feature film category in sales term, followed by the “Music” segment (16.5%) and Children’s (16.1%).

In 2007, French films slightly increased their market share to 23.7%, compared with 22.8% in 2006 and 21.5% in 2005, as did U.S. films, whose share of the market rose from 60.1% in 2006 to 62.3% in 2007.

Some 13.4 million French titles on DVD and VHS were sold in 2007 for a total revenue of €184.1 million, a 7.4% drop compared to 2006. U.S. films also saw a dip in revenue over the year, with U.S. titles making €483.1 million, a 7.7% fall from 2006.

Story filed 11.02.08