Viewers of the César Awards ceremony in France from 2010-2021

Founded in 1976, the César Award is the national film award ceremony of France, which each year rewards the professionals of the cinema industry in various categories. Supported by the French Ministry of Culture, the César Awards are considered the highest movie honor for the French cinema industry.

Loss of interest

Although popular, the César Awards are only the third favorite movie ceremony of the French population after the Cannes Film Festival and the Oscars. It can also be noticed that the number of viewers of the César Awards have slowly but steadily been decreasing over the past decade and that the ceremony recorded its worst audience in 2019 with 1.65 million viewers.

2020

Nevertheless, the 45th edition seems to turn the tide and managed to gather a total of 2.16 million spectators on February 28, 2020. This resurgence of interest can partially be explained by the many controversies surrounding the ceremony. Indeed, the movie “An Officer and a Spy”, which obtained a total of 12 nominations and three awards, found itself at the heart of a veritable media storm that shook the French film industry.