We introduce a powerful analytic method to study the statistics of the number N_{A}(γ) of eigenvalues inside any smooth Jordan curve γ∈C for infinitely large non-Hermitian random matrices A. Our generic approach can be applied to different random matrix ensembles of a mean-field type, even when the analytic expression for the joint distribution of eigenvalues is not known. We illustrate the method on the adjacency matrices of weighted random graphs with asymmetric couplings, for which standard random-matrix tools are inapplicable, and obtain explicit results for the diluted real Ginibre ensemble. The main outcome is an effective theory that determines the cumulant generating function of N_{A} via a path integral along γ, with the path probability distribution following from the numerical solution of a nonlinear self-consistent equation. We derive expressions for the mean and the variance of N_{A} as well as for the rate function governing rare fluctuations of N_{A}(γ). All theoretical results are compared with direct diagonalization of finite random matrices, exhibiting an excellent agreement.