The Gaumont Film Company, often shorted to Gaumont, is a French major film studio founded by the engineer-turned-inventor Léon Gaumont (1864–1946), in 1895.
It is the first and oldest film company in the world, founded before other studios such as Pathé (founded in 1896), Titanus (1904), Nordisk Film (1906), Universal and Paramount (both founded in 1912). The company headquarters are in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France.
Gaumont predominantly produces, co-produces, and distributes films, and in 2011, 95% of Gaumont's consolidated revenues came from the film division. The company is increasingly becoming a TV series producer with its new American subsidiary Gaumont International Television as well as its existing French production features.
Gaumont is run by Nicolas Seydoux (President), Sidonie Dumas (General Director) and Christophe Riandee (Deputy General Director).
Gaumont currently has 938 films in its catalogue, most of which are in French; there are, however, 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 that Gaumont owns the rights of 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.
Directors such as Abel Gance 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.
According to en.wikipedia
