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Gaumont (company)

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For the British company, see Gaumont-British.

Gaumont SA
Formerly
  • L. Gaumont & Cie (1895–1906)
  • Société des Établissements Gaumont (1906–1930)
  • Gaumont-Franco-Film-Aubert (1930–1938)
  • Société Nouvelle des Établissements Gaumont (1938–1975)
Company typePublic (Société Anonyme)
Euronext Paris: GAM
ISINFR0000034894
IndustryMotion pictures
Founded6 July 1895; 129 years ago (1895-07-06)
FounderLéon Gaumont
Headquarters
Neuilly-sur-Seine
,
France
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
  • Nicolas Seydoux (Chairman)
  • Sidonie Dumas (CEO)
ProductsMotion pictures
Television programs
Film distribution
RevenueIncrease €212.2 million (2021)[1]
Increase €1.0 million (2021)[1]
Total assetsIncrease €206.4 million (2022)[2]
Total equityIncrease €255.9 million (2011)[3]
OwnerSidonie Dumas (89.7%)
Number of employees
227 (2021)[4]
SubsidiariesGaumont Animation
Gaumont International Television
Gaumont Production Services
Gaumont Télévision
Gaumont Vidéo
GP Archives
Éditions La Marguerite
Websitegaumont.fr (France)
gaumont.com (America)
A Spido reportage at the Fotomuseum Antwerp

Gaumont SA (French: [ɡomɔ̃]) is a French film and television production and distribution company headquartered in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France.[5] 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, Paramount, and Nikkatsu (all founded in 1912).[6]

Gaumont predominantly produces, co-produces, and distributes films, and in 2011, 95% of Gaumont's consolidated revenues came from the film division.[7] 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).[8]

History

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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.[9] From 1905 to 1914, its Cité Elgé studios (from the normal French pronunciation of the founder's initials L-G) in La Villette, France were the largest in the world. Gaumont began producing full-length feature films in 1908.

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] 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 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) and The Lady Vanishes (1938). Along with its competitor Pathé Frères, Gaumont dominated the motion picture industry in Europe until the outbreak of World War I in 1914.

Gaumont–British logo in the 1910s and 20s
Gaumont logo in the 1920s

After World War I, Gaumont suffered economic losses owing to increased competition from American 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). 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.[10] 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.[11] 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.[10] In 1975, media tycoon and French old money heir multimillionaire Nicolas Seydoux started managing Gaumont; he personally owned 60% of the shares and 70% of the votes.[citation needed] In the 1990s, the company operated TV and multimedia divisions, which was divested at the end of the 1990s.[12] The television division was sold to company executive Christian Carret, who turned it into GTV,[13][14] while the multimedia division's animation unit were sold to management and renamed into Xilam,[15] and the multimedia division continued producing video games until 2004.

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[16] with the Texas Instruments prototype projector.[17] From 1993 to early 2004, Gaumount and Disney had a partnership for producing films for theater distribution.[18] 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.[19] In 2004, Gaumont continued its development with Pathé to set up another joint venture, 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.[18] 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 Alphanim for €25 million and renamed it Gaumont Alphanim. As of 2013, it is known as Gaumont Animation.[20]

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.[21] 2011 was the year that Gaumont opened its Gaumont International Television division in Los Angeles.[22] In 2011, Gaumont co-produced and co-distributed The Intouchables, which became France's highest-grossing movie of all time.[23] The international release of The Intouchables was equally successful, trumping previous international blockbusters such as Harry Potter and Transporters in Germany.[24] 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.[25] The film's success turned a half-year 2011 loss to a record annual €26 million profit.[3] The Intouchables currently has a box office of $361 million.[26]

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, and Au Revoir les Enfants.[27] In February 2012, Gaumount restarted its television division which had been defunct for about ten years.[23]On 2 May 2016 according to Deadline Hollywood, Gaumont teamed with 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.[28] In 2019, Gaumont was replaced by TF1 Studio as Globalgate's new French member.[29] 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.[30]

In January 2018, it was announced that the company's first office, in Cologne, Germany, would open in July 2018. The office will focus on development and production of premiere drama programming, according to film producer and new manager Sabine de Mardt.[31]

Production

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Gaumont currently[as of?] has 938 films in its catalogue, most of which are in French; however there are some exceptions such as Luc Besson's The Fifth Element (1997). Among the most notable films produced by Gaumont are the serials Judex (1916) and 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.[26]

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, 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 began production in its American unit Gaumont International Television on two series: Hannibal and Hemlock Grove. The studio has been described as a mini-major studio.[32]

Corporate structure

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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 Investment Management, Bolloré, and 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.[3]

Financial information

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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%.[33] Gaumont's current[as of?] market capitalization is €164 million.[34]

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Léon Gaumont selected the ox-eye daisy as the company logo to pay homage to his mother, whose first name was Marguerite (Daisy). 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]

References

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  1. ^ a b "GAUMONT : Résultats annuels consolidés au 31 décembre 2021" [GAUMONT : Consolidated annual results at December 31, 2021)] (Press release). 10 March 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  2. ^ "GAUMONT: Résultats semestriels consolidés au 30 juin 2022" [GAUMONT : Consolidated half-yearly results at June 30, 2022]. Financial Times. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "2011 Gaumont Annual Report" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 May 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  4. ^ "Gaumont 2021 Rapport financier semestriel" [Gaumont 2021 Half-yearly financial report] (PDF). Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  5. ^ "Contactez-nous Archived 10 May 2020 at the Wayback Machine." Gaumont Film Company. Retrieved on 2 March 2010.
  6. ^ Richard Abel, The Ciné Goes to Town: French Cinema, 1896–1914, University of California Press, 1994, p. 10, ISBN 0-520-07936-1
  7. ^ "2011 Gaumont Revenue statement[permanent dead link]"
  8. ^ "Gaumont's teams". Gaumont.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ a b "Gaumont SA - Company Profile, Information, Business Description, History, Background Information on Gaumont SA". Reference for Business. 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  11. ^ Who's Who in France. 1973.
  12. ^ Williams, Michael (2 December 1998). "Gaumont surprise". Variety. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  13. ^ Paule Gonzales (4 August 1999). "Gaumont TV choisit l'indépendance". Le Figaro (in French): 10..
  14. ^ "Rapprochement Télé Images et GTV". L'Agefi (in French): 21. 28 January 2000..
  15. ^ Sébastien Tranchant (7 April 2004). ""J'ai racheté Gaumont Multimédia"". L'Express (in French)..
  16. ^ Cahiers du cinéma, n°hors-série, Paris, April 2000, p. 32.
  17. ^ Creton, Laurent; Kitsopanidou, Kira (20 November 2013). Les salles de cinéma: Enjeux, défis et perspectives. Armand Colin. ISBN 978-2-200-29011-5 – via Google Books.
  18. ^ a b James, Alison (30 January 2004). "Sony has Gaul with Gaumont". Variety. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  19. ^ "2011 Gaumont Annual Report p.54 Archived 18 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine"
  20. ^ "Gaumont - Sorties en salles, actualité DVD et VOD, catalogue en ligne" (PDF). www.gaumont.com.[permanent dead link]
  21. ^ "Gaumont 2010 Report[permanent dead link]"
  22. ^ Keslassy, Elsa. Alphanim Inks DreamWorks Deal, Rebrands. March 11, 2013. Variety. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
  23. ^ a b Keslassy, Elsa. Gaumont ups TV activity. February 25, 2012. Variety.
  24. ^ "'The Intouchables' Overtakes 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2' at German Box Office"
  25. ^ "Gaumont Q4 revenues[permanent dead link]"
  26. ^ a b "Intouchables Box-office mojo". 17 February 2018
  27. ^ "Gaumont press release[permanent dead link]"
  28. ^ Lieberman, David (2 May 2016). "Lionsgate Partners With Execs At Film Initiative Targeting Global Local Markets". Deadline. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  29. ^ Dave McNary (10 July 2019). "Lionsgate's Globalgate Consortium Adds France's TF1 Studio". variety.com. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  30. ^ Hopewell, John (1 March 2017). "Gaumont Sells Cinema Chain Stake to Pathé for $400 Million".
  31. ^ "Gaumont Expands to Germany, Appoints Warner Bros. Executive (EXCLUSIVE)". variety.com. 24 January 2018.
  32. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (5 August 2013). "Gaumont Intl. Television Staff Up L.A. Headquarter". Variety. Retrieved 5 August 2013. Gaumont International Television, the French mini-major's L.A.-based production and distribution studio,...
  33. ^ "Gaumont 2012 First Half Earnings Report[permanent dead link]"
  34. ^ "Gaumont share price Archived 15 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine"

Sources

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  • 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, 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
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