5 French films of 1981 ranked by box office. #1: The Professional ($63.4 million).
| # | Film | Lead | Director | Budget | Box office | Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Professional | Georges Lautner | $3.5 million | $63.4 million | 18.11x | |
| 2 | La Chèvre | Francis Veber | $56.6 million | |||
| 3 | Le Maître d'école | Claude Berri | $19.6 million | |||
| 4 | Coup de Torchon | Bertrand Tavernier | $16.5 million | |||
| 5 | The Aviator's Wife | Éric Rohmer | $835,000 |
Figures are shown in the currency they were reported in (Wikipedia, Wikidata or TMDB); no conversion.