The Battle of Gaulle: disappointing start, release of the second part brought forward to take advantage of the Film Festival

Announced with great fanfare at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival and presented as the most ambitious French production of the year, Antonin Baudry's two-part film, *La Bataille de Gaulle*, is experiencing a difficult start. The first installment, *L'Âge de fer* (The Age of Iron), released on June 3rd, only garnered 380,000 admissions in its first week across 560 theaters, a disappointing figure for a film of this scale. By comparison, *Scary Movie 6*, released simultaneously but in fewer theaters, fared slightly better with over 390,000 admissions. Faced with this situation, Pathé quietly announced on June 11th that the release of the second installment, *J'écris ton nom* (I Write Your Name), would be moved forward by one week, from July 3rd to June 26th.

The Film Festival as a lifeline, a formidable summer competitor

The strategy is clear: to coincide the release of the second film with the Fête du Cinéma (Cinema Festival), scheduled from June 28 to July 1, during which all screenings are offered at the single price of 5 euros. Pathé hopes to replicate the success that The Count of Monte Cristo experienced last year during this event. The financial stakes are considerable. According to figures declared to the CNC (National Center for Cinema and the Moving Image), the official budget for the two-part film is 75,2 million euros, making it the most expensive French production of 2026. However, sources cited by Le Point suggest that budget overruns could have brought the actual cost to 85 or even 100 million euros. The coming weeks look challenging: Hollywood is preparing to flood theaters with a series of blockbusters and family films (Disclosure Day, Minions and Monsters, Toy Story 5, Supergirl, Moana, and Christopher Nolan's 2000). Not forgetting the expected excitement surrounding the football World Cup, which will compete with all cinema chains for some of the public's attention.