Inoxtag’s Kaizen: Everest, the film and its numbers

Kaizen is the documentary by the video creator Inoxtag about his preparation for, and climb of, Everest. It opened in cinemas as a one-off event on September 13, 2024, then went online for free on YouTube on September 14, 2024 at 2:30 p.m. (Paris time). According to YouTube, it passed 11 million views in 24 hours. The video has 49,644,591 views on October 23, 2026.

At a glance

• The film: a documentary of about 2 h 25 on YouTube (2 h 40 in cinemas), directed by Basile Monnot, produced by IDZ Prod (Webedia group), released in cinemas by mk2.alt.
• Releases: cinemas on September 13, 2024, YouTube on September 14, 2024, TF1 on October 8, 2024, Disney+ on May 21, 2025.
• In cinemas: 311,710 admissions in France from September 11 to 17, 2024 (CBO Box-Office) and about 340,000 viewers in total according to the distributor.
• On YouTube: over 11 million views in 24 hours (YouTube, via AFP) and 49,644,591 views on October 23, 2026.
• The climb: summit reached on May 21, 2024 with guide Mathis Dumas, seven sherpas and supplemental oxygen.
• The debates: criticism from mountaineers, the number of screenings raised by the CNC, the absence of climate regretted by an association. Inoxtag answered part of it.

Kaizen in 10 dates

What is Kaizen about?

Kaizen follows Inoxtag for a year, from his physical training to the climb of Everest. The title is a Japanese word for continuous improvement (Paris Match). The project was announced in February 2023, to mark the 6 million subscribers of his channel, for a climb in spring 2024 (Les Gens d’Internet, Journal du Geek).

To prepare, Inoxtag climbed more accessible peaks: Toubkal (4,167 m), Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn, then in Nepal Ama Dablam (6,812 m), according to the press kit. A trailer posted on YouTube on August 31, 2024 revealed the title and the release dates.

Timeline: confirmed dates

Date	Event
February 2023	Announcement of the project to climb Everest in 2024.
Early April 2024	Departure for the expedition. According to Paris Match, Inoxtag stays silent on his networks until August 31.
May 21, 2024	Summit of Everest, dated May 21 by Le Dauphiné Libéré. The expedition had announced it the same day (Breakflip).
August 31, 2024	Trailer, title “Kaizen” and release dates.
September 13, 2024	Preview at the Grand Rex (Paris) and screenings in cinemas.
September 14, 2024, 2:30 p.m.	Free release on YouTube.
October 8, 2024	Broadcast on TF1, from 11:23 p.m. to 2:02 a.m. The film has been on TF1+ since September 28 (Les Surligneurs).
November 21, 2024	Volume 1 of the manga Instinct published by Michel Lafon.
May 21, 2025	Arrives on Disney+.
July 9 to 20, 2025	Atlantic crossing with sailor Guirec Soudée, from Lorient to Martinique.
2026	Pathé brings in Inoxtag for La Bataille de Gaulle, whose first part came out on June 3, 2026 (CB News): he organizes watch parties (Purebreak, The Spectator).

This timeline keeps only public, professional facts, confirmed by at least two sources or attributed to the one that reports them.

Team and support

The August 2024 press kit presents the team. High-mountain guide Mathis Dumas is the expedition leader. He follows Inoxtag during training, then to the summit (Le Dauphiné Libéré). Seven sherpas went with the expedition: three for Inoxtag and the guide, four for the film crew. Brut presents Sonam Lama as the chief guide.

On the film side, Basile Monnot directs, Samy Bouyssié is executive producer and Quentin Eiden edits (press kit). Le Dauphiné Libéré mentions the support of commercial partners, including Nike. Inoxtag used oxygen at altitude: he mentions it in his interview with Le Dauphiné Libéré of September 23, 2024, and both his critics and his defenders talk about it.

In cinemas: screenings and admissions

The September 13, 2024 screening was handled by mk2.alt, with the label YouTube Ciné-Club by mk2 (press kit). Sources give different figures, because they do not all cover the same territory or period.

Point	What the sources say
Framework	Kaizen benefited from an exceptional CNC visa (Senate). The “short release” formula allows 500 screenings at most, over two days at most in the same week (CNC).
Cinemas	About 500 according to the European Audiovisual Observatory, more than 500 according to Écran Large.
Screenings	350 planned by MK2 according to the European Audiovisual Observatory. 800 according to Les Échos, quoted by that source, and according to the Senate.
Admissions in France	311,710 from September 11 to 17, 2024, second in the weekly ranking (CBO Box-Office, via Ozap).
Total admissions	About 340,000 including 40,000 outside France according to MK2 (AFP). The Senate speaks of nearly 400,000 spectators.

Read these figures as orders of magnitude.

YouTube, television and Disney+: dated figures

Measure	Value	Date of measurement	Source
Views in 24 hours	over 11 million	September 14 and 15, 2024	YouTube, via AFP
Views	over 17 million	September 16, 2024	Presse-citron
Views	nearly 44 million	May 22, 2025	AFP, via The Media Leader
Views	49,644,591	October 23, 2026	YouTube page of the video
TF1 viewers	329,000 (8.8% audience share)	October 8, 2024	Médiamétrie, via Ozap
Subscribers of Inoxtag’s channel	9.52 million	October 23, 2026	YouTube page of the channel

Purebreak cites 13 million views in 24 hours: keep 11 million, the figure attributed to YouTube. According to Purebreak, this beats the record of PNL’s video “Au DD” (7.5 million in 24 hours, March 2019). According to The Media Leader (AFP dispatch), Kaizen is the most-watched video in France on YouTube in 2024. Disney+ has offered the film since May 21, 2025 in about thirty countries, through a deal with Webedia.

Controversies: who said what

The film drew criticism before and after its release. It is reported with the author and the source, and reflects only the views of those who voiced it.

Date	Who	Reported remarks	Source
April 10, 2024	Marc Batard, mountaineer	He sees the project as a commercialization of Everest and fears more accidents. Guide Mathis Dumas answers that the approach is well thought out.	Breakflip, based on BFMTV
April 25, 2024	Catherine Destivelle, mountaineer	She believes non-mountaineers have the right to go to Everest, whose cost limits the number of candidates.	Le Dauphiné Libéré
September 16, 2024	Pascal Tournaire, mountaineer and photographer	After seeing the film at a preview, he does not see where the achievement is, finds it very focused on Inoxtag and fears more overtourism. He repeats a comparison attributed to mountaineer Benjamin Védrines: climbing with oxygen would be like riding the Tour de France on an electric bike.	L’Équipe, via Démotivateur and 75 Secondes
September 16, 2024	Fiona Mille, president of Mountain Wilderness	She says the film keeps selling an image of unlimited resources. Reporterre notes that it does not mention climate change.	Reporterre
September 17, 2024	Olivier Henrard, deputy director general and acting president of the CNC	He tells 20 Minutes that Kaizen could set an unfortunate precedent and that this regulation needs to be rethought.	Les Surligneurs, Breakflip, Démotivateur
October 13, 2024	Mike Horn, explorer	In a video, he defends the film and Inoxtag’s preparation.	Démotivateur (October 18, 2024)

The number of screenings. According to the European Audiovisual Observatory, MK2 says it did not intend to exceed the 350 screenings planned, and some cinemas reportedly added screenings without consulting it. The same source recalls that a fine of 45,000 euros is provided for a screening outside the conditions of the visa, and quotes the association ACID, which reproaches the film for feeding a system centered on short-lived trends. The Senate notes that the release went beyond the limit, which the profession criticized, and that the success with a very young audience is also a form of recognition for cinema. We found no published sanction decision as of October 23, 2026. On July 10, 2026, the CNC published a recommendation on exceptional visas (no short-release screenings on Saturdays except live, announcement 6 to 8 weeks ahead, a system of administrative sanctions wished for). The text does not mention Kaizen.

Inoxtag’s answers. In Le Dauphiné Libéré of September 23, 2024, he says: “Je dis merci à ces gens qui m’ont critiqué” (thank you to the people who criticized me). He notes that most Everest candidates have never worn crampons and says he was shocked by the waste filmed at 8,000 m. According to Démotivateur (September 19, 2024), he admitted some clumsiness on the show Clique and said on France 24 that his aim was not to push his subscribers to climb Everest. Mathis Dumas told Euronews that criticism helps people question themselves.

What followed: manga, trips and other projects

Date	Project	Figures and details	Source
November 21, 2024	Manga Instinct, volume 1 (Michel Lafon)	First print run of 400,000 copies, first place in the GfK ranking for November 18 to 24, 2024	Livres Hebdo
September 20, 2025	Film of the Atlantic crossing with Guirec Soudée	7,114,720 views on October 23, 2026	YouTube
November 8, 2025	Video “7 jours pour survivre en Jungle !”, with the Foreign Legion	7,066,502 views on October 23, 2026	YouTube
November 2025	Manga Instinct, volume 2	Over 38,000 copies in the first week. Volume 1 totals 510,000 copies on November 27, 2025. A volume 3 is in preparation according to the publisher.	Livres Hebdo
June 13, 2026	Video “10 jours pour traverser les Etats-Unis sur la route 66 !”, with GMK	6,012,603 views on October 23, 2026	YouTube

The Atlantic crossing left on July 9, 2025 and reached Martinique on July 20: 11 days at sea according to Paris Match Belgium. Video view counts come from the YouTube pages read on October 23, 2026 and change every day.

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Sources

• Dossier de presse Kaizen, Webedia (août 2024)
• YouTube, vidéo « KAIZEN: 1 an pour gravir l’Everest ! » (relevé du 23 octobre 2026)
• YouTube, chaîne Inoxtag et flux des vidéos (relevé du 23 octobre 2026)
• Paris Match Belgique, le retour d’Inoxtag (1er septembre 2024)
• Les Gens d’Internet, l’annonce de Kaizen (2 septembre 2024)
• Écran Large, Kaizen au cinéma (17 septembre 2024)
• Ozap, box-office du 11 au 17 septembre 2024, chiffres CBO Box-Office (19 septembre 2024)
• Epoch Times (dépêche AFP), l’engouement sur YouTube (septembre 2024)
• Presse-citron, les records de YouTube en France (16 septembre 2024)
• Purebreak, le record de vues en 24 heures (16 septembre 2024)
• Ozap, l’audience de Kaizen sur TF1 (9 octobre 2024)
• Euronews, portrait d’Inoxtag (3 janvier 2025)
• The Media Leader (dépêche AFP), Kaizen sur Disney+ (22 mai 2025)
• Brut, Kaizen sur Disney+
• Sortiraparis, Kaizen sur Disney+ (21 mai 2025)
• CNC, procédure des visas exceptionnels
• CNC, 3e recommandation sur les visas exceptionnels (10 juillet 2026)
• Observatoire européen de l’audiovisuel, IRIS 2024-9:1/3, Inoxtag et les fenêtres de diffusion
• Les Surligneurs, Kaizen et la chronologie des médias (30 octobre 2024)
• Breakflip, la polémique avec les cinémas (19 septembre 2024)
• Démotivateur, la polémique sur les séances (19 septembre 2024)
• Sénat, L’essentiel sur l’avis de la commission sur les crédits du cinéma, PLF 2025 (novembre 2024)
• Les Gens d’Internet, l’annonce du projet Everest (27 février 2023)
• Journal du Geek, les réactions d’alpinistes (7 mars 2023)
• Breakflip, les critiques de Marc Batard et Pascal Tournaire (10 avril 2024)
• Le Dauphiné Libéré (via Mon Séjour en Montagne), la polémique (25 avril 2024)
• Breakflip, le sommet annoncé par l’expédition (21 mai 2024)
• Démotivateur, Pascal Tournaire dans L’Équipe (16 septembre 2024)
• 75 Secondes, Pascal Tournaire (17 septembre 2024)
• Reporterre, Kaizen et le changement climatique (16 septembre 2024)
• Le Dauphiné Libéré (via Mon Séjour en Montagne), entretien avec Inoxtag (23 septembre 2024)
• Le Dauphiné Libéré (via Mon Séjour en Montagne), le guide Mathis Dumas (24 septembre 2024)
• Démotivateur, les réponses d’Inoxtag (19 septembre 2024)
• Démotivateur, l’avis de Mike Horn (18 octobre 2024)
• Brut, entretien avec Sonam Lama (5 janvier 2025)
• Livres Hebdo, Instinct tome 1 en tête des ventes (28 novembre 2024)
• Livres Hebdo, Instinct tome 2 (27 novembre 2025)
• Paris Match Belgique, l’arrivée en Martinique (22 juillet 2025)
• Purebreak, Pathé et Inoxtag (2 juillet 2026)
• The Spectator, Pathé et la jeune génération (4 septembre 2026)
• CB News (dépêche AFP), La Bataille de Gaulle (6 juillet 2026)

Updated October 22, 2026. Views, subscribers and videos of the YouTube channel: read on October 23, 2026 at 3 p.m., Paris time. Other figures: press cited in the sources, with their dates.