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{{short description|French film studio}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Gaumont SA
| former_names = {{plainlist|
* L. Gaumont & Cie (1895–1906)
* Société des Établissements Gaumont (1906–1930)
* Gaumont-Franco-Film-Aubert (1930–1938)
* Société Nouvelle des Établissements Gaumont (1938–1943; 1944-1975)
* Société Marseillaise des films Gaumont (1943-1944)
}}
| logo = [[File:Gaumont logo.svg|frameless|class=skin-invert]]
| logo_caption = Logo used since 2011
| type = [[Public company|Public]]
| traded_as = {{EuronextParis|GAM|FR0000034894|XPAR}}<br>CAC All-Share
| ISIN = {{ISIN|sl=n|pl=y|FR0000034894}}
| founder = [[Léon Gaumont]]
| key_people = {{Unbulleted list||Nicolas Seydoux (chairman)|[[Sidonie Dumas]] (CEO)}}
| industry = [[Motion picture]]s
| products = Motion pictures<br />Television programs<br />Film distribution
| revenue = {{profit}} €212.2 million (2021)<ref name=GNW_G10Ma2022>{{cite press release|url=https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2022/03/10/2401326/0/fr/GAUMONT-R%C3%A9sultats-annuels-consolid%C3%A9s-au-31-d%C3%A9cembre-2021.html|title=GAUMONT : Résultats annuels consolidés au 31 décembre 2021|date=10 March 2022 |trans-title=GAUMONT : Consolidated annual results at December 31, 2021)|access-date=14 January 2023}}</ref>
| net_income = {{profit}} €1.0 million (2021)<ref name=GNW_G10Ma2022/>
| assets = {{profit}} €206.4 million (2022)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=1330-1000735657fr-04PR05SI005POP41EBGTHH1VDC|title=GAUMONT: Résultats semestriels consolidés au 30 juin 2022|trans-title=GAUMONT : Consolidated half-yearly results at June 30, 2022|newspaper=Financial Times|access-date=14 January 2023}}</ref>
| equity = {{profit}} €255.9 million (2011)<ref name=10K/>
| num_employees = 227 (2021)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gaumont-finance.com/files/documents/2021/bf2e8591433c77a3df34a9593aa3b06c.pdf|title=Gaumont 2021 Rapport financier semestriel|trans-title=Gaumont 2021 Half-yearly financial report|access-date=14 January 2023|archive-date=1 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231001003936/https://www.gaumont-finance.com/files/documents/2021/bf2e8591433c77a3df34a9593aa3b06c.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| subsid = [[Gaumont Animation]]<br />[[Gaumont International Television]]<br />Gaumont Production Services<br />Gaumont Télévision<br />Gaumont Vidéo<br />[[GP Archives]]<br/>Éditions La Marguerite
| foundation = {{start date and age|1895|7|6|df=y}}
| location_city = [[Neuilly-sur-Seine]]
| location_country = France
| area_served = Worldwide
| owner = Sidonie Dumas (89.7%)
| homepage = {{URL|http://www.gaumont.fr/|gaumont.fr}} (France)<br />{{URL|http://www.gaumont.com/|gaumont.com}} (America)
}}
[[File:Spido reportage (Gaumont) FOMU Antwerpen 1-5-2017 14-28-50.JPG|upright=1.35|thumb|A ''Spido reportage'' at the [[Fotomuseum Antwerp]]]]
'''Gaumont SA''' ({{IPA|fr|ɡomɔ̃|lang}}) is a French film and television production and distribution company headquartered in [[Neuilly-sur-Seine]], France.<ref>"[http://www.gaumont.com/en/contact.html Contactez-nous] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200510015117/http://www.gaumont.com/en/contact.html |date=10 May 2020 }}." Gaumont Film Company. Retrieved on 2 March 2010.</ref> Founded by the engineer-turned-inventor [[Léon Gaumont]] (1864–1946) in 1895, it is the oldest extant film company in the world, established before other studios such as [[Pathé]] (founded in 1896), [[Titanus]] (1904), [[Nordisk Film]] (1906), [[Universal Pictures|Universal]], [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]], and [[Nikkatsu]] (all founded in 1912).<ref>Richard Abel, ''The Ciné Goes to Town: French Cinema, 1896–1914'', University of California Press, 1994, p. 10, {{ISBN|0-520-07936-1}}</ref>

Gaumont predominantly produces, co-produces, and distributes films, and in 2011, 95% of Gaumont's consolidated revenues came from the film division.<ref>"[http://www.gaumont.com/data/pdf/2011/CA_311211.pdf 2011 Gaumont Revenue statement]{{Dead link|date=May 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}"</ref> The company is also a producer of TV series through Gaumont Télévision and animation through [[Gaumont Animation]] as well as its existing French production features. Gaumont is run by Nicolas Seydoux (chairman) and [[Sidonie Dumas]] (CEO).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gaumont.com/en/team/gaumonts-teams|title=Gaumont's teams|website=Gaumont}}</ref>

==History==
Originally dealing in photographic apparatus, the company began producing short films in 1897 to promote its make of camera-projector. [[Léon Gaumont]]'s secretary [[Alice Guy-Blaché]] became the [[motion picture]] industry's first female director, and she went on to become the Head of Production of the Gaumont film studio from 1897 to 1907.<ref>Green, Pamela and Sluijs, Jarik van. ''Be Natural'' documentary precis. 
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/benatural/be-natural-the-untold-story-of-alice-guy-blache . Accessed 10 Aug 2013. 
</ref> From 1905 to 1914, its [[Cité Elgé]] studios (from the normal French pronunciation of the founder's initials L-G) in [[La Villette, Seine|La Villette, France]] were the largest in the world. Gaumont began producing full-length feature films in 1908.

In 1908, Gaumont released [[Fantasmagorie (film)|La Fantasmagori]], directed by [[Émile Cohl]], considered the first animated film.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Beckerman |first=Howard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EjW6cCE4v1QC&pg=PA17 |title=Animation: The Whole Story |date=2003 |publisher=Allworth Press |isbn=978-1-58115-301-9 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Isabelle |first=Marinone |title=Fantasmagorie, le premier dessin animé |url=https://francearchives.gouv.fr/fr/pages_histoire/38781 |access-date=2025-09-09 |website=FranceArchives |language=fr}}</ref>

[[File:La Fantasmagorie (1908).webm|thumb|left|[[Fantasmagorie (film)|Fantasmagorie]] (1908), the first animated film in cinema, produced by Gaumont]]

Gaumont also launched into movie theaters around 1908. In 1911, Gaumont opened the largest cinema in the world, the [[Gaumont-Palace|Gaumont Palace]], which was located in Paris and had up to 6,400 seats. It was demolished in 1973.<ref>{{Cite web |title=L'histoire de la Maison - fr {{!}} Gaumont, depuis que le cinéma existe |url=https://www.gaumont.com/fr/page-edito-histoire/lhistoire-de-la-maison |access-date=2025-09-14 |website=www.gaumont.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=L'histoire du Gaumont-Palace, surnommé "le plus grand cinéma du monde" |url=https://www.pariszigzag.fr/insolite/histoire-insolite-paris/la-petite-histoire-du-gaumont-palace |access-date=2025-09-14 |website=Paris ZigZag {{!}} Insolite & Secret |language=fr-FR}}</ref>
[[File:Cinéma Gaumont (Palace, 1 rue Caulaincourt, Paris, 18e arrondissement) - btv1b53272089z.jpg|thumb|left|Exterior of Gaumont Palace in 1933]]
[[File:Gaumontpalace-1913.png|thumb|left|intérior of Gaumont Palace in 1913]]
 
[[File:Fantômas - Le Mort qui tue.gif|thumb|left| Fantômas of Louis Feuillade]]
In 1913, [[Louis Feuillade]], artistic director of the company, persuaded [[Léon Gaumont]] to acquire the rights to the Fantômas series of novels. The adaptation was a significant success. [[Louis Feuillade]]'s [[Fantômas (1913 serial)|Fantômas]], regarded as the first cinematic serial, marked a major turning point in film history. The series not only enabled the Gaumont company to compete with [[Pathé]], the global leader in cinema at the time, but also launched the popularity of the cinematic serial and played a key role in popularizing suspense and detective thrillers, genres that were relatively uncommon at the time.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-05-15 |title=“Charles Pathé et Léon Gaumont, premiers géants du cinéma” : l’histoire passionnante d’une rivalité légendaire |url=https://www.telerama.fr/television/charles-pathe-et-leon-gaumont-premiers-geants-du-cinema-d-emmanuelle-nobecourt-et-gaelle-royer-notre-critique_cri-7032659.php |access-date=2025-09-04 |website=www.telerama.fr |language=fr}}</ref>

From 1914 to 1915, [[Léonce Perret]] took over as artistic director of Gaumont after [[Louis Feuillade]]'s departure for the front.

[[Louis Feuillade]] was demobilized in 1915 due to heart problems. He took the opportunity to return to the Gaumont studio. At the same time, competitor Pathé was preparing to release its cinematic serial [[The Perils of Pauline (1914 serial)|The Perils of Pauline]] and in France (after the huge success of the French saga in the United States). [[Léon Gaumont]] then commissioned [[Louis Feuillade]] to create a series to counter that of [[Charles Pathé]], which gave birth to the director's most iconic work: [[Les Vampires]], a cinematic serial of ten episodes, released at a rate of one per month Filming conditions, in the midst of the [[World War I|First World War]], were particularly difficult: the actors could be mobilized at any moment. Gaumont and Louis Feuillade adapted by masking secondary characters, or by killing off protagonists whose actors were going to be mobilized. The script was created day by day to be able to adjust. [[Les Vampires]] became one of Gaumont's biggest successes and popularized the archetype of the [[femme fatale]] throughout the world, notably thanks to the character of Irma Vep (an anagram of the word "vampire"), played by the actress [[Musidora]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-06-03 |title=Les Vampires (Louis Feuillade, 1915) |url=https://www.iletaitunefoislecinema.com/les-vampires-louis-feuillade-1915/ |access-date=2025-09-09 |website=Il était une fois le cinéma |language=fr-FR}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Il a 100 ans sortait Les Vampires. - fr {{!}} Gaumont, depuis que le cinéma existe |url=https://www.gaumont.com/fr/actualites/il-a-100-ans-sortait-les-vampires |access-date=2025-09-09 |website=www.gaumont.com}}</ref>

The company manufactured its own equipment and mass-produced films until 1907, when [[Louis Feuillade]] became the artistic director of Gaumont. When [[World War I]] broke out, he was replaced by [[Léonce Perret]], who continued his career in the United States a few years later.{{Citation needed|date=March 2010}} Finally, [[Louis Feuillade]] returned to Gaumont during the [[World War I|First World War]] after being demobilized in 1915. In 1909 the company participated in the [[Paris Film Congress]], a failed attempt by European producers to create a [[cartel]] similar to that of the [[Motion Picture Patents Company|MPPC]] in the United States.

Gaumont opened foreign offices and acquired the theatre chain [[Gaumont British]], which later notably produced several films directed by [[Alfred Hitchcock]] such as ''[[The 39 Steps (1935 film)|The 39 Steps]]'' (1935) and ''[[The Lady Vanishes (1938 film)|The Lady Vanishes]]'' (1938). Along with its competitor [[Pathé Frères]], Gaumont dominated the motion picture industry in the world until the outbreak of [[World War I]] in 1914.
[[File:Gaumont British logo.png|thumb|left|150px|Gaumont–British logo in the 1910s and 20s]]
[[File:Gaumont années 20.png|thumb|left|150px|Gaumont logo in the 1920s]]

After [[World War I]], Gaumont suffered economic losses owing to increased competition from American [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]] productions. In 1925, the studio's output decreased to only three films. In addition, Gaumont was unable to keep pace with the cost of technological changes (e.g., the advent of sound movies).

In 1927, [[Warner Bros.|Warner Bros]] appropriated the invention of talking pictures with the film [[The Jazz Singer]], while [[Léon Gaumont]] had succeeded in making sound films as early as 1902 with his invention, the [[chronophone]], which [[Alice Guy-Blaché|Alice Guy]] used extensively by shooting hundreds of [[Phonoscène|phonoscenes]]. Thanks to the patents he had filed at the time, the Gaumont company filed a complaint against Warner Bros, and after a legal battle lasting nearly 20 years, won the case.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-05-15 |title=“Charles Pathé et Léon Gaumont, premiers géants du cinéma” : l’histoire passionnante d’une rivalité légendaire |url=https://www.telerama.fr/television/charles-pathe-et-leon-gaumont-premiers-geants-du-cinema-d-emmanuelle-nobecourt-et-gaelle-royer-notre-critique_cri-7032659.php |access-date=2025-09-09 |website=www.telerama.fr |language=fr}}</ref>

Struck by mounting debts in the early 1930s and the effects of the [[Great Depression]], Gaumont declared bankruptcy in 1935. In 1937, the studio ceased production and operated only as a theater and distribution company. The company was purchased by the French corporation [[Havas]] in 1938, was renamed Société Nouvelle des Etablissements Gaumont, and reopened its film production studio.<ref name="RFB">{{cite web|url=http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/79/Gaumont-SA.html|title=Gaumont SA - Company Profile, Information, Business Description, History, Background Information on Gaumont SA|year=2015|work=Reference for Business|access-date=22 March 2015}}</ref> During the later years of [[World War II]], Gaumont was affected by the financial ruin of France's economy as well as the physical destruction of its facilities. The company ceased production until 1947. During that time, Gaumont partnered with Compagnie Parisienne de Location de Films to produce and distribute films and co-marketed together, until CPLF was renamed to Gaumont Distribution.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Who's Who in France |year=1973}}</ref> However, the global interest in [[French New Wave]] films in the 1950s, as well as the permissiveness within French films (e.g., nudity), allowed French productions to successfully compete against an American cinema that was still burdened by conservative moral codes. The period was to see the return to prominence of Gaumont Studios.<ref name="RFB" />

In the 1960s, Gaumont's production division recovered with the success of [[Les Tontons flingueurs|Les Tontons Flingueurs]], as well as numerous successful films starring the famous French actor [[Louis de Funès]].<ref>{{Cite web |title={{!}} Gaumont, depuis que le cinéma existe |url=https://www.gaumont.com/fr/advanced_search?type%5B%5D=movie |access-date=2025-09-14 |website=www.gaumont.com}}</ref>

In 1970, media [[tycoon]] and French [[old money]] [[heir]] [[millionaire|multimillionaire]] Nicolas Seydoux started managing Gaumont and becomes a vice-president at the company. Within two years he puts into place a restructuring phase and halted its productions, with Seydoux imposing his veto on certain projects.<ref name="Poiré">{{Cite book |lang=fr |author=[[Alain Poiré]] |title=200 films au soleil |publisher=Ramsay |location=Paris |year=1988 |page=367 |isbn=2-85956-729-1}}</ref> he personally owned 60% of the shares and 70% of the votes. It was likely that the new policy imposed was to change its production structure, with less "mainstream" films. Although he had a significant number of box-office hits, [[Alain Poiré]] had his place in danger, following the failure of ''[[Rum Runners]]'', which was a costly production.<ref name="Poiré"/>

In 1972, Schlumberger put up Gaumont for sale: ''Rum Runners'' didn't help recoup its losses. Ambitious producer [[Jean-Pierre Rassam]] intended to acquire Gaumont with Seydoux and Toscan du Plantier and had promised various projects to bail out the company, but the balance sheet of his company Ciné qua non did not play into this his favor between the budget overruns or commercial failures of the films ''[[Chinese in Paris]]'', ''[[Don't Touch the White Woman!]]'' and ''[[Lancelot du Lac (film)|Lancelot du Lac]]''.<ref name="Rassam">{{Cite book|author=Étienne Dubois |title=Jean Yanne: L'esprit libre |publisher=City |series=Biographie |year=2013 |chapter=Défaite, souffrance et peine (Affaire Gaumont, infarctus, séparation, 1974-1975)}}.</ref> The Schlumberger group sells its shares, estimated at 40%, to Nicolas Seydoux and [[Daniel Toscan du Plantier]].

With these events, Nicolas Seydoux succeeds his brother Jérome Seydoux at the front of the company. The policy he undertook reconciled popular films and those with a more restricted audience: [[Alain Poiré]] ultimately remained in his position, to continue the production of major popular films, and Seydoux appointed [[Daniel Toscan du Plantier]] as its general manager. René Bonnell, Gaumont's distribution director from 1978 to 1982, explains that Seydoux had to coexist a Tuscan du Plantier, who arrived in 1976-1977 and who wanted to change everything, with a more traditional Poiré. On the economic level, Poiré was the financial support of the group thanks to all its big successes (''[[La Boum]]'', ''[[La Chèvre]]'', the [[Jean-Paul Belmondo|Belmondo]] films etc.), and their theatrical runs in the halls was modernized by Nicolas Seydoux. Concerning Toscan, that the economic balance of his interventions was proven, but he was the essential complement, young, open, to a house which needed this touch of madness. A house whose imaginary value, apart from balance sheet values, was increased by this extraordinary abundance around Tuscan.<ref>{{Cite journal|lang=fr|author1=Michaël Dacheux|author2=Thomas Lasbleiz|title=Restructuration d'un paysage. Entretien avec René Bonnell|journal=[[Vertigo (magazine)|Vertigo]]|volume=44|number=2|publisher=Éditions Lignes|date=2012|url=https://www.cairn.info/revue-vertigo-2012-3-page-27.htm|pages=27–33 |doi=10.3917/ver.044.0027 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

Between 1974 and 2000, the production division achieved numerous successes, producing and distributing French films that went on to become cult classics, such as the trilogy "[[Now Where Did the 7th Company Get to?|Now Where Did the 7th Company Get to ?]]"  which parodies the total defeat of French troops against German troops during the beginning of the [[Second World War]], the first films of [[Luc Besson]], which were shot in English and most of them with an American cast, such as [[Subway (film)|Subway]], [[Léon: The Professional|Léon the Professional]], [[The Big Blue]], [[The Fifth Element]] or even [[La Femme Nikita (film)|La Femme Nikita]]. Gaumont also produces a huge number of cult comedies in France, notably [[La Chèvre]], [[Les Visiteurs]], [[The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe|Le Grand Blond avec Une Chaussure noire]] ans [[Le retour du grand blond|Le retour du Grand Blond]] and [[The Dinner Game]] ("Le Dîner de Cons") not to be confused with the American remake "[[Dinner for Schmucks]]" which is not produced by Gaumont and which received negative feedback.<ref>{{Cite web |title={{!}} Gaumont, depuis que le cinéma existe |url=https://www.gaumont.com/fr/advanced_search?type%5B%5D=movie |access-date=2025-09-14 |website=www.gaumont.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Dinner Game {{!}} Rotten Tomatoes |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dinner_game |access-date=2025-09-14 |website=www.rottentomatoes.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Dinner for Schmucks {{!}} Rotten Tomatoes |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dinner_for_schmucks |access-date=2025-09-14 |website=www.rottentomatoes.com |language=en}}</ref>

In this period, Gaumont bought shares in some media assets. In 1978, the company became the part-owner of a US cable channel, [[Telefrance USA]],<ref name="TF1">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HF0gAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA54 |title=TeleFrance USA Brings French TV to American Cable Audiences |publisher=The Lewiston Daily Sun |language=en}}</ref> followed in 1981 by a share in [[Le Point]], a conservative magazine.<ref name=eurot>{{cite web|title=Le Point|url=http://www.eurotopics.net/en/home/medienindex/media_articles/?frommedia=1792|work=Euro Topics|access-date=31 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924005348/http://www.eurotopics.net/en/home/medienindex/media_articles/?frommedia=1792|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> In 1983, its US cable outlet ceased due to a lack of an interested buyer, while at the same time, the company was reporting losses, causing the shutdown of its Italian branch (due to the emergence of private television stations) as well as the sale of its Brazilian branch.<ref>{{cite book |title=Notes et études documentaires |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9r5mAAAAMAAJ |access-date=16 July 2024 |date=1987 | publisher=La Documentation Française }}</ref> In 1986, it was part of the Gilbert Gross-led consortium that set up [[TV6 (French TV channel)|TV6]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ina.fr/video/CAB86002431|title=Fillioud, la 6ème chaîne|website=Ina.fr|access-date=July 22, 2019}}</ref> the channel closed down after one year on air due to the complex political scenario after the [[1986 French legislative election|1986 legislative elections]], where the two new channels (the other being [[La Cinq]]) were granted without a legal tender.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jo_pdf.do?numJO=0&dateJO=19860802&numTexte=&pageDebut=09538&pageFin=|title=Fac-similé JO du 02/08/1986, page 09538 &#124; Legifrance|website=Legifrance.gouv.fr|access-date=July 22, 2019}}</ref> Gaumont's share in Le Point, by then at over 80%, was sold to [[Générale Occidentale]] in September 1993.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.lesechos.fr/1993/09/la-generale-occidentale-a-rachete-le-point-910770|title=La Générale Occidentale a racheté « Le Point »|newspaper=Les Echos|date=6 September 1993}}</ref>

In the 1990s, the company operated TV and multimedia divisions, which was divested at the end of the 1990s.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Michael |date=1998-12-02 |title=Gaumont surprise |url=https://variety.com/1998/biz/news/gaumont-surprise-1117488981/ |access-date=2024-07-24 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref> The television division was sold to company executive Christian Carret, who turned it into GTV,<ref>{{cite journal|language=fr|author=Paule Gonzales|title=Gaumont TV choisit l'indépendance|journal=[[Le Figaro]]|date=1999-08-04|pages=10}}.</ref><ref>{{cite journal|language=fr|title=Rapprochement Télé Images et GTV|journal=[[L'Agefi (France)|L'Agefi]]|date=2000-01-28|pages=21}}.</ref> while the multimedia division's animation unit were sold to management and renamed [[Xilam]],<ref>{{cite journal|language=fr|author=Sébastien Tranchant|title="J'ai racheté Gaumont Multimédia"|journal=[[L'Express]]|date=2004-04-07|url=https://lentreprise.lexpress.fr/creation-entreprise/etapes-creation/34-j-ai-rachete-gaumont-multimedia-34_1515955.html}}.</ref> and the multimedia division continued producing video games until 2004.

[[File:Gaumont-Columbia-TriStar.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Gaumont–Columbia–TriStar Films logo (2004–2007)]]
On 2 February 2000, Philippe Binant, technical manager of Digital Cinema Project at Gaumont, realized the first digital cinema projection in Europe<ref>''[[Cahiers du cinéma]]'', n°hors-série, Paris, April 2000, p. 32.</ref> with the [[Texas Instruments]] prototype projector.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n_wTAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT77|title=Les salles de cinéma: Enjeux, défis et perspectives|first1=Laurent|last1=Creton|first2=Kira|last2=Kitsopanidou|date=20 November 2013|publisher=Armand Colin|isbn=978-2-200-29011-5 |via=Google Books}}</ref> From 1993 to early 2004, Gaumont and [[the Walt Disney Company|Disney]] had a partnership for producing films for theater distribution.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=James |first=Alison |date=2004-01-30 |title=Sony has Gaul with Gaumont |url=https://variety.com/2004/film/news/sony-has-gaul-with-gaumont-1117899273/ |access-date=2024-07-24 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2001, Gaumont spun off the cinema division into a joint venture with Pathé since known as Les Cinémas Gaumont Pathé. Gaumont owned a 34% stake in the entity, which controls a large cinema network in France, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. As of 2011, this stake was worth €214 million.<ref>"[http://www.gaumont.com/data/pdf/2011/rapport_financier_annuel_2011_UK.pdf 2011 Gaumont Annual Report p.54] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130518023657/http://www.gaumont.com/data/pdf/2011/rapport_financier_annuel_2011_UK.pdf |date=18 May 2013 }}"</ref> In 2004, Gaumont continued its development with [[Pathé]] to set up another joint venture, [[Gaumont-Pathe Archives|Gaumont-Pathé Archives]]. Gaumont owns 57.5% of this entity, which contains newsreels, documentaries, and silent movies from the 20th and 21st centuries. From early 2004 to 2007, the company had a partnership with Sony for producing films and for theater and DVD distribution worldwide.<ref name=":0" /> And for many years, Gaumont's home video division was a joint venture with [[Sony Pictures]]. Currently, Gaumont distributes its films through [[Paramount Home Media Distribution]] on video in France. At the end of 2007, Gaumont took over the French animation studio [[Gaumont Animation|Alphanim]] for €25 million and renamed it Gaumont Alphanim. As of 2013, it is known as [[Gaumont Animation]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gaumont.com/data/pdf/2008/rapport_financier_annuel_en.pdf|title=Gaumont - Sorties en salles, actualité DVD et VOD, catalogue en ligne|website=www.gaumont.com}}{{Dead link|date=May 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Gaumont produced in 2006 and 2009 two French films that have since become cult classics, [[OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies]] and [[OSS 117: Lost in Rio]]. While they are parodies of James Bond, they became cult films because they go beyond simple parody, combining retro spy adventure with politically incorrect satire and biting humor.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gohain |first=Odyssey |date=2023-07-01 |title=10 Hilarious Spy Comedies That Will Have You in Stitches |url=https://movieweb.com/funniest-spy-comedy-movies/ |access-date=2025-09-14 |website=MovieWeb |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=OSS 117 Cairo, Nest of Spies |url=https://www.musicboxfilms.com/film/oss-117-cairo-nest-of-spies/ |access-date=2025-09-14 |website=International Films - Independent Films {{!}} Music Box Films |language=en-US}}</ref> 

On 16 December 2010, Gaumont acquired a 37.48% stake in the share capital of the Légende company and its subsidiaries for €6.6 million. Légende is a full-length film and television series production and distribution company managed by [[Alain Goldman]]. As of 2011, the Légende stake is worth €6.3 million.<ref>"[http://www.gaumont.com/data/pdf/2010/rapport_financier_annuel_2010_eng.pdf Gaumont 2010 Report]{{Dead link|date=May 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}"</ref> 2011 was the year that Gaumont opened its [[Gaumont International Television]] division in [[Los Angeles]].<ref>Keslassy, Elsa. [https://variety.com/2013/tv/international/alphanim-inks-dreamworks-deal-rebrands-1200006688/ Alphanim Inks DreamWorks Deal, Rebrands]. March 11, 2013. [[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]. Retrieved August 5, 2013.</ref> 

In 2011, Gaumont co-produced and co-distributed ''[[The Intouchables]]'', which became France's highest-grossing movie of all time.<ref name="vty">Keslassy, Elsa. 
[https://variety.com/2012/tv/news/gaumont-ups-tv-activity-1118050699/ Gaumont ups TV activity]. February 25, 2012. [[Variety (magazine)|Variety]].</ref>

The international release of ''The Intouchables'' was equally successful, trumping previous international blockbusters such as ''Harry Potter'' and ''Transporters'' in Germany.<ref>"[https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/intouchables-box-office-harry-potter-deathly-hallows-317980 'The Intouchables' Overtakes 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2' at German Box Office]"</ref> ''Intouchables'' is the highest-grossing foreign-language movie (any language other than English) beating the previous record of $275 million by the Japanese ''[[Spirited Away]]''. The film was a major catalyst for Gaumont's boosting fourth-quarter 2011 cinema sales to €47.9 million, up 651% year on year.<ref>"[http://www.gaumont.com/data/pdf/2011/CA_311211.pdf Gaumont Q4 revenues]{{Dead link|date=May 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}"</ref> The film's success turned a half-year 2011 loss to a record annual €26 million profit.<ref name="10K" /> ''[[The Intouchables]]'' currently has a box office of $361 million.<ref name="5K" />

In 2012, Gaumont acquired the production company Nouvelles Éditions de Films (NEF) for €3.1 million. The company was previously run and created by cinema legend [[Louis Malle]]. As part of the acquisition, Gaumont now owns the entire Malle collection, including ''[[Ascenseur pour l'échafaud]]'', ''[[Atlantic City (1980 film)|Atlantic City]]'', and ''[[Au Revoir les Enfants]]''.<ref>"[http://www.gaumont.com/data/pdf/2012/Acquisition_NEF_2012.pdf Gaumont press release]{{Dead link|date=May 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}"</ref> In February 2012, Gaumount restarted its television division which had been defunct for about ten years.<ref name="vty" /> On 2 May 2016 according to ''[[Deadline Hollywood]]'', Gaumont teamed with [[Lionsgate Films|Lionsgate]], and seven other international companies to launch the '''Globalgate Entertainment''' consortium. Globalgate will produce and distribute local-language films in markets around the world. Lionsgate said it had partnered with international entertainment executives Paul Presburger, William Pfeiffer and Clifford Werber to launch Globalgate.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://deadline.com/2016/05/lionsgate-partnership-globalgate-entertainment-local-market-films-1201747841/|title=Lionsgate Partners With Execs At Film Initiative Targeting Global Local Markets|last=Lieberman|first=David|date=2016-05-02|newspaper=Deadline|language=en-US|access-date=2016-11-01}}</ref> In 2019, Gaumont was replaced by [[TF1|TF1 Studio]] as Globalgate's new French member.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2019/film/news/lionsgate-globalgate-france-tf1-1203263160/|title=Lionsgate's Globalgate Consortium Adds France's TF1 Studio
|website=[[Variety (magazine)|variety.com]]|author=Dave McNary|date=10 July 2019|access-date=23 February 2020|language=en}}</ref> On 1 March 2017, Gaumont sold its 34% stake in Les Cinémas Gaumont Pathé to Pathé for $400 million in order to focus on production.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2017/film/global/gaumont-les-cinemas-gaumont-pathe-400-million-1201999790/|title=Gaumont Sells Cinema Chain Stake to Pathé for $400 Million|first=John|last=Hopewell|date=1 March 2017}}</ref>

In January 2018, it was announced that the company's first office, in [[Cologne|Cologne, Germany]], would open in July 2018. The office was to focus on development and production of premiere drama programming, according to film producer and new manager Sabine de Mardt.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/gaumont-expands-germany-appoints-warner-bros-executive-1202674890/ |title=Gaumont Expands to Germany, Appoints Warner Bros. Executive (EXCLUSIVE) |publisher=variety.com |date=24 January 2018}}</ref>

One month later in February of that same year following Gaumont's launch of its German production unit in Germany, Gaumont launched a British television production division and second office based in London, England marking its second expansion and a return to the British production industry after selling its division Gaumont-British in 1940s with former Kudos producer Alison Jackson leading the UK division.<ref>{{cite web|title=Gaumont to Open U.K. TV Production Division|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/gaumont-open-uk-tv-production-division-1080849/|website=The Hollywood Reporter|first=Rhonda|last=Richford|date=February 1, 2018}}</ref>

==Production==
{{main|Lists of Gaumont films}}

Gaumont currently has nearly 1,500 films in its catalogue,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jérôme Soulet et Maxime Gruman (Gaumont) : « Gaumont Classique vise 50 000 abonnements à la fin 2023 » |url=https://www.satellifacts.com/fr/tour/news/307440/?free=0 |access-date=2025-09-03 |website=www.satellifacts.com}}</ref> most of which are in French; however there are some exceptions such as [[Luc Besson]]'s ''[[The Fifth Element (film)|The Fifth Element]]'' (1997), [[Luc Besson]]'s [[Léon: The Professional|Leon : the professional]] (1994), [[Luc Besson]]'s [[The Big Blue]] (1988).

Among the most notable films produced by Gaumont are the serials [[Louis Feuillade]]'s ''[[Judex (1916 film)|Judex]]'' (1916), [[Louis Feuillade]]'s [[Les Vampires]] (1915) and [[Louis Feuillade]]'s ''[[Fantômas (1913 serial)|Fantômas]]'' (1913), the comic Onésime series, starring Ernest Bourbon; and the comic Bébé series, starring five-year-old [[René Dary]]. The two biggest films to which Gaumont owns the rights are [[Jean-Marie Poiré]]'s ''[[Les Visiteurs]]'', with a box-office of $98 million, and the 2011 blockbuster ''[[Intouchables]]'' by [[Olivier Nakache]] and [[Éric Toledano]], with a box office of $427 million.<ref name="5K">{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/default.htm?id=intouchables.htm|title=Intouchables Box-office mojo.}} 17 February 2018</ref>

Gaumont also produced and distributed numerous films starring the famous French actor [[Louis de Funès]], including [[The Big Restaurant|Le Grand Restaurant]] (1966), [[Hibernatus]] (1969), [[Delusions of Grandeur (film)|La Folie des Grandeurs]] (1970) or the [[Fantômas]] from the 60s : [[Fantômas (1964 film)|Fantômas]] (1964), [[Fantômas se déchaîne|Fantomas se déchaîne]] (1964) and [[Fantômas contre Scotland Yard|Fantomas contre Scotland Yard]] (1967)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Advanced search |url=https://www.imdb.com/search/ |access-date=2025-09-03 |website=IMDb |language=en-US}}</ref>

[[Abel Gance]], a director and the early animator [[Emile Cohl]] worked for the studio at one time or another. The company has also produced television shows, including seven animated series: ''[[Highlander: The Animated Series]]'', ''[[Space Goofs]]'', ''[[The Magician (animated TV series)|The Magician]]'', ''[[Dragon Flyz]]'', ''[[F Is for Family]]'', and ''[[Sky Dancers]]'' (the second and third are based on their respective toy lines), and the very popular ''[[Oggy and the Cockroaches]]''. The company also produced two series through its American unit [[Gaumont International Television]]: ''[[Hannibal (TV series)|Hannibal]]'' and ''[[Hemlock Grove (TV series)|Hemlock Grove]]''. The studio has been described as a [[Major film studios#Mini-majors|mini-major studio]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Keslassy |first=Elsa |date=August 5, 2013 |title=Gaumont Intl. Television Staff Up L.A. {{sic|hide=y|Head|quarter|expected=Headquarters}} |newspaper=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |url=https://variety.com/2013/tv/international/gaumont-intl-television-staff-up-l-a-headquarter-1200573947/ |access-date=August 5, 2013 |quote=Gaumont International Television, the French mini-major's L.A.-based production and distribution studio,...}}</ref>

==Corporate structure==
Ciné Par is a majority shareholder with 69.92% of the voting rights: this entity is controlled by CEO Nicolas Seydoux. The other private shareholders are [[First Eagle Funds|First Eagle Investment Management]], [[Bolloré]], and [[Dassault Group|Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault]]. The company has a free float of 416,784 shares, which represents 9.75% of the capital and 5.99% of the voting rights.<ref name=10K>{{cite web|url=http://www.gaumont.com/data/pdf/2011/rapport_financier_annuel_2011_UK.pdf|title=2011 Gaumont Annual Report|access-date=22 May 2012|archive-date=18 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130518023657/http://www.gaumont.com/data/pdf/2011/rapport_financier_annuel_2011_UK.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Gaumont Television==
'''Gaumont Television''' is the television division of Gaumont which was established in 2010.

Gaumont opened its first production office dedicated to television series production in 1963.

In January 2000, in order for Gaumont to refocus on its film production and cinema multiplex businesses, Gaumont sold off its remaining shares of its former television company GTV Productions (the original Gaumont Television) to its president Christian Charret alongside French television production company [[Tele Images Productions|Tele Images]] whom merged it with GTV Productions as it became a subsidiary of Tele Images whilst retaining the GTV name as Tele Images began distributing GTV's series and its programming library worldwide through Tele Images' distribution division Tele Images International.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tele Images to back Gaumont Television buyout|url=https://www.screendaily.com/tele-images-to-back-gaumont-television-buyout/401208.article|website=Screen Daily|first=Patrick|last=Frater|date=January 31, 2000|access-date=September 18, 2024}}</ref>

==Logo==
[[Léon Gaumont]] selected the [[Leucanthemum vulgare|ox-eye daisy]] as the company logo to pay homage to his mother, whose first name was Marguerite (Daisy). Its first appearance dates back to March 16, 1903 when Léon Gaumont registered the first version of the daisy (slightly resembling a [[sunflower]]), with the ''Elgé'' inscription in the center, French phonetic version of the founder's initials. (''L. G.'')<ref>{{cite journal|lang=fr|author=Bernard Bastide|title=Aux sources des tournages en décors naturels. L'exemple de Louis Feuillade à la Cité de Carcassonne, en 1908|journal=[[1895 (journal)|1895]]|number=55|year=2008|volume=55 |pages=98–138|doi=10.4000/1895.4107 |url=https://doi.org/10.4000/1895.4107}}</ref> Elge was renamed ''Gaumont'' lorsque when the company was renamed Société des Établissements Gaumont in 1906. Léon Gaumont requires the brand to be present in “at least one scene from each strip and even two scenes".<ref>{{cite book|lang=fr|author=Sous la direction de Philippe d'Hugues et Dominique Muller|title=Gaumont : 90 ans de cinéma|publisher=Ramsay. La Cinémathèque française|year=1986|page=80|isbn=978-2-85956-540-4}}</ref>

Throughout the decades the logo has been redesigned several times, but the daisy has always remained present, even though its significance has been largely forgotten.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}} Following Gaumont-Franco-Film-Aubert's bankruptcy, Société Nouvelle des Établissements Gaumont recovered the 1906 monogram, though it wasn't until 1942, when the company returned to production with ''Le journal tombe à cinq heures'' that the company introduced a new logo. After the war, it absorbed its distribution subsidiary, Compagnie Parisienne de Location de Films (CPLF), by combining the globe from the company as part of its new identity. On screen, Gaumont Distribution adopted a theme composed by [[Marc Lanjean]], film composer and cousin of company director [[Alain Poiré]].<ref>{{Cite book|language=fr|author=Alain Poiré|title=200 films au soleil|publisher=Ramsay|year=1988|page=117|isbn=978-2-85956-729-3}}</ref>

In 1970, Gaumont commissions a new animated logo at the Ciné-Télé-Réalisations (CTR) laboratories. The opening logo began with the globe from its predecessor, surrounded by sun rays resembling petals of a daisy. The theme was composed by [[François de Roubaix]], who was also working for ''[[L'homme orchestre]]'' for the company, which he wanted to use as debut. He created an initial four-note fanfare, with brass instruments and timpany, but Gaumont found it "too dry". He then created a second one, using eighteen strings, two trumpets, a bassoon and a timpani. It had three variations, the first of which ended up being selected. The rejected versions included a second version with a chorus following the climax of the jingle (which François wanted to use), composed of three men and four women, and a third one, based on the choral version, added drum beats at the end. To de Roubaix's surprise, the new logo did not appear on {{lang|fr|L'Homme orchestre}}, as he planned, appearing on screen only a few months later.<ref>{{Cite book |language=fr |first1=Gilles |last1=Loison |first2=Laurent |last2=Dubois |title=François de Roubaix, charmeur d'émotions |page=259 |publisher=Éditions chapitre douze |date=16 April 2008 |isbn=978-2-915345-06-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3CapN6zurXcC&printsec=frontcover}}.</ref>

For the company's landmark centennial in 1995, Gaumont adopted a redesign of its logo designed by Les Quatre Lunes. On screen, a retrospective of all the firm's previous emblems appears, with music by [[Bertrand Burgalat]], ending in space with the new logo revealed. A lawsuit broke out between the composer and the firm.<ref>{{Cite web|language=fr|url=https://www.doctrine.fr/d/CA/Versailles/2007/SK0250ED4FEABAB87D7775|title=Cour d'appel de Versailles, 18 janvier 2007, n° 05/08487|website=Doctrine|access-date=25 September 2022}}</ref> The company's opening logo changed in 2003, created by the Bronx agency: a boy climbs a hill with a flower at its top, and picks the daisy, which flies away, grows and unfolds into a red rosette in a starry sky, with the company's name appearing. The music was made at the Laplage studio, arranged by [[Christophe Chassol|Chassol]].<ref>{{Cite news|language=fr|author=Fabrice Pliskin|title=Chassol, le musicien qui réconcilie Ravel et The Cure|newspaper=[[L'Obs]]|date=7 March 2020|url=https://www.nouvelobs.com/cinema/20200307.OBS25718/chassol-le-musicien-qui-reconcilie-ravel-et-the-cure.html}}</ref>

The latest redesign is from 2010, and takes up the principle of the halo of petals: the red daisy has twelve irregular petals which take the form of a luminous halo around the letter G. The logo, made by Lorène Bruant for the Les Quatre Lunes agency, is inspired by the [[praxinoscope]] to create dynamism and adopts a tailor-made, sans-serif typography.<ref>{{Cite web|lang=fr|title=Gaumont modernizes the daisy of its logo|publisher=[[Graphéine]]|date=13 December 2010|url=https://www.grapheine.com/actulogo/logo-gaumont-modernise-la-marguerite}}</ref> Designed for the screen again by the Bronx agency, it is accompanied by the first bars of the well-known aria ([[cavatina]]) ''Casta Diva'' from the [[opera]] ''[[Norma (opera)|Norma]]'' composed by [[Vincenzo Bellini]].

==Financial information==
In the first half of 2012, Gaumont recorded a profit of €7.7 million, which reversed the €0.6 million loss from the first half of 2011. The profit was driven by a 49% increase in revenue, which reached €50.1 million. The company cited the continued effects of ''[[Intouchables]]'', which increased International revenues by 153%.<ref>"[http://www.gaumont.com/data/pdf/2012/RF_GAUMONT_30062012.pdf Gaumont 2012 First Half Earnings Report]{{Dead link|date=May 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}"</ref> Gaumont's [[market capitalization]] as of January 2010 is €164 million.<ref>"[http://bourse.lesechos.fr/bourse/cours.jsp?Code=FR0000034894&Place=00025-TD&Codif=ISI Gaumont share price] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100115170700/http://bourse.lesechos.fr/bourse/cours.jsp?Code=FR0000034894&Place=00025-TD&Codif=ISI |date=15 January 2010 }}"</ref>

On 5 July 2017, the Dassault and Bolloré families withdrew their shares from Gaumont, falling below the 10% voting power limit and 5% capital limit at the company.<ref>[https://bourse.lefigaro.fr/indices-actions/actu-conseils/gaumont-la-famille-dassault-et-bollore-sont-sortis-du-capital-a-l-occasion-de-l-offre-de-rachat GAUMONT : la famille Dassault et BOLLORE sont sortis du capital à l'occasion de l'offre de rachat]</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
* Philippe Binant, ''Au cœur de la projection numérique'', Actions, ''29'', 12–13, Kodak, Paris, 2007
* Marie-Sophie Corcy, Jacques Malthete, Laurent Mannoni, Jean-Jacques Meusy, ''Les Premières Années de la société L. Gaumont et Cie'', Afrhc, Bibliothèque du Film, Gaumont, Paris, 1999
* François Garçon, ''Gaumont. Un siècle de cinéma'', [[Gallimard]], coll. "[[Découvertes Gallimard]]" (nº 224), Paris, 1992
* Philippe d'Hugues et Dominique Muller, ''Gaumont, 90 ans de cinéma'', Éditions Ramsay, [[Cinémathèque Française]], Paris, 1986
* Yoana Pavlova, « Gaumont », ''in'' Jean-Michel Frodon & Dina Iordanova (editors), ''Cinemas of Paris'', 145–150, [https://risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk/portal/en/researchoutput/cinemas-of-paris(053e04ca-3665-4d35-a5bb-a300662825dd).html University of St Andrews, St Andrews Film Studies], Scotland, 2016.
* Nicolas Seydoux, ''Cent ans de réflexions'', Cent ans de cinéma, 6–15, Gaumont, Neuilly-sur-Seine, 1995

==External links==
{{Commons category|Gaumont}}
*{{Official website|http://www.gaumont.fr/}} (in French)
*{{Official website|http://www.gaumont.com/}} (in English)
*{{Official website|http://www.gaumontconnect.com/fr|Gaumont Connect}} (in French)
*{{Official website|http://www.gaumontconnect.com/en|Gaumont Connect}} (in English)

{{Gaumont}}
{{Film studios}}
{{Animation industry in France}}
{{Cinema of France}}
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