Pathé or Pathé Frères (, styled as PATHÉ!) is the name of various French

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...

es that were founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

starting in 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest film equipment and production company, as well as a major producer of

phonograph record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts nea ...

s. In 1908, Pathé invented the

newsreel A newsreel is a form of short documentary film, containing news stories and items of topical interest, that was prevalent between the 1910s and the mid 1970s. Typically presented in a cinema, newsreels were a source of current affairs, informa ...

that was shown in cinemas before a feature film. Pathé is a major film production and distribution company, owning a number of cinema chains through its subsidiary

Les Cinémas Pathé Gaumont Les Cinémas Pathé Gaumont is a cinema chain owned by Pathé, with operations in France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, and Tunisia. The company is market leader in each country, with the exception of Belgium and Tunisia. It is Europe’ ...

and television networks across Europe. It is the second-oldest operating film company behind

Gaumont Film Company The Gaumont Film Company (, ), often shortened to Gaumont, is a French film studio headquartered in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. Founded by the engineer-turned-inventor Léon Gaumont (1864–1946) in 1895, it is the oldest extant film company in ...

, which was established in 1895.

History

The company was founded as Société Pathé Frères (Pathé Brothers Company) in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

on 28 September 1896, by the four brothers

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

, Émile, Théophile and Jacques Pathé. During the first part of the 20th century, Pathé became the largest film equipment and production company in the world, as well as a major producer of

phonograph records A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog signal, analog sound Recording medium, storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove ...

Film House 142 Wardour Street London Redvers

Pathé Records

The driving force behind the film operation and phonograph business was

Charles Pathé Charles Morand Pathé (; 26 December 1863 – 25 December 1957) was a pioneer of the French film and recording industries. As the founder of Pathé Frères, its roots lie in 1896 Paris, France, when Pathé and his brothers pioneered the deve ...

, who had helped open a

phonograph A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

shop in 1894 and established a phonograph factory at

Chatou Chatou () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Chatou is a part of the affluent suburbs of western Paris and is on the northwest side of the Seine river about from the city's center. Histo ...

on the western outskirts of Paris. The Pathé brothers began selling Edison and Columbia phonographs and accompanying cylinder records and later, the brothers designed and sold their own phonographs that incorporated elements of other brands. Soon after, they also started marketing pre-recorded cylinder records. By 1896 the Pathé brothers had offices and

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...

s not only in Paris, but also in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, and

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. Pathé manufactured cylinder records until approximately 1914. In 1905 the Pathé brothers entered the growing field of

disc records A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts nea ...

. In France, Pathé became the largest and most successful distributor of cylinder records and phonographs. These, however, failed to make headway in foreign markets such as the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

where other brands were already in widespread use. In December 1928, the French and British Pathé phonograph assets were sold to the British

Columbia Graphophone Company Columbia Graphophone Co. Ltd. was one of the earliest phonograph, gramophone companies in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1917 as an offshoot of the American Columbia Records, Columbia Phonograph Company, it became an independent British-owned ...

. In July 1929, the assets of the American Pathé record company were merged into the newly formed

American Record Corporation American Record Corporation (ARC), also referred to as American Record Company, American Recording Corporation, or ARC Records, was an American record company. Overview ARC was created in January 1929 by Louis G. Sylvester, president of Scran ...

. The Pathé and Pathé-Marconi labels and catalogue still survive, first as imprints of

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

and now currently EMI's successor

Parlophone Records Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 19 ...

Pathé films

As the phonograph business became successful, Pathé saw the opportunities offered by new means of entertainment and in particular by the fledgling

motion picture A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

industry. Having decided to expand the record business to include film equipment, the company expanded dramatically. To finance its growth, the company took the name Compagnie Générale des Établissements Pathé Frères Phonographes & Cinématographes (sometimes abbreviated as "C.G.P.C.") in 1897, and its shares were listed on the

Paris Stock Exchange Euronext Paris is France's securities market, formerly known as the Paris Bourse, which merged with the Amsterdam, Lisbon, and Brussels exchanges in September 2000 to form Euronext NV. As of 2022, the 795 companies listed had a combined market ...

. In 1896,

Mitchell Mark Mitchel H. Mark a.k.a. Mitchell Mark a.k.a. Mitchell H. Mark (born as Mitchel Henry Mark) (1868 – March 20, 1918) was a pioneer of motion picture exhibition in the United States. Early life Mitchel Henry Mark was born in 1868 in Richmond Virgi ...

of Buffalo,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, became the first American to import Pathé films to the United States, where they were shown in the Vitascope Theater. In 1907, Pathé acquired the

Lumière brothers Lumière is French for 'light'. Lumiere, Lumière or Lumieres may refer to: * Lumières, the philosophical movement in the Age of Enlightenment People *Auguste and Louis Lumière, French pioneers in film-making Film and TV * Institut Lumière, ...

' patents and then set about to design an improved studio camera and to make their own film stock. Their technologically advanced equipment, new processing facilities built at

Vincennes Vincennes (, ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is next to but does not include the Château de Vincennes and Bois de Vincennes, which are attached ...

, and aggressive merchandising combined with efficient distribution systems allowed them to capture a huge share of the international market. They first expanded to

in 1902 where they set up production facilities and a chain of movie theatres.Abel 1999, p. 25. By 1909, Pathé had built more than 200 movie theatres in France and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and by the following year they had facilities in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

plus

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Slightly later, they opened a film exchange in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

. Through its American subsidiary, it was part of the MPPC cartel of production in the United States. It participated in the

Paris Film Congress The Paris Film Congress was a major meeting of European film producers and distributors in the French capital Paris from 2–4 February 1909. It intended to create an association to protect the interests of the participants through the formation of ...

in February 1909 as part of a plan to create a similar European organisation. The company withdrew from the project in a second meeting in April which fatally undermined the proposal. Prior to the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Pathé dominated Europe's market in motion picture cameras and projectors. It has been estimated that at one time, 60 percent of all films were shot with Pathé equipment. In 1908, Pathé distributed '' Excursion to the Moon'' by Segundo de Chomón, an imitation of

Georges Méliès Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès (; ; 8 December 1861 – 21 January 1938) was a French illusionist, actor, and film director. He led many technical and narrative developments in the earliest days of cinema. Méliès was well known for the use of ...

's '' A Trip to the Moon''. Pathé and Méliès worked together in 1911. Georges Méliès made a film '' Baron Munchausen's Dream'', his first film to be distributed by Pathé. Pathé's relationship with Méliès soured, and in 1913 Méliès went bankrupt, and his last film was never released by Pathé.

Innovations

Worldwide, the company emphasised research, investing in such experiments as hand-coloured film and the synchronisation of film and gramophone recordings. In 1908, Pathé invented the

that was shown in theatres prior to the feature film. The news clips featured the Pathé logo of a crowing rooster at the beginning of each reel. In 1912, it introduced 28 mm non-flammable film and equipment under the brand name Pathescope.

Pathé News Pathé News was a producer of newsreels and documentaries from 1910 to 1970 in the United Kingdom. Its founder, Charles Pathé, was a pioneer of moving pictures in the silent era. The Pathé News archive is known today as British Pathé. Its coll ...

produced cinema newsreels from 1910, up until the 1970s when production ceased as a result of mass television ownership.''Researcher's Guide to British Newsreels'' 1993, p. 80. In the United States, beginning in 1914, the company built film production studios in Fort Lee and Jersey City, NJ, where their building still stands.

The Heights, Jersey City The Heights or Jersey City Heights is a district in the north end of Jersey City, New Jersey, atop the New Jersey Palisades overlooking Hoboken to the east and Croxton in the Meadowlands to the west. The southern border of The Heights is ge ...

produced the extremely successful serialised episodes called '' The Perils of Pauline''. By 1918 Pathé had grown to the point where it was necessary to separate operations into two distinct divisions. With Emile Pathé as chief executive,

Pathé Records Pathé Records was an international record company and label and producer of phonographs, based in France, and active from the 1890s through the 1930s. Early years The Pathé record business was founded by brothers Charles and Émile Pathé, ...

dealt exclusively with phonographs and recordings while brother Charles managed ''Pathé-Cinéma'' which was responsible for film production, distribution, and exhibition.Abel 1999, pp. 32–35. 1922 saw the introduction of the ''Pathé Baby'' home film system using a new 9.5 mm film stock which became popular over the next few decades. In 1921, Pathé sold off its United States motion picture production arm, which was renamed "

Pathé Exchange Pathé Exchange, commonly known as Pathé, was an American film production and distribution company, largely of Hollywood's silent era. Known for its groundbreaking newsreel and wide array of shorts, it grew out of the American division of the ...

" and later merged into

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...

, disappearing as an independent brand in 1931. Pathé sold its British film studios to

Eastman Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...

in 1927 while maintaining the theatre and distribution arm.

Natan to Parretti

Pathé was already in substantial financial trouble when Bernard Natan took control of the company in 1929. Studio founder

had been selling assets for several years to boost investor value and keep the studio's cash flow healthy. The company's founder had even sold Pathé's name and "rooster" trademark to other companies in return for a mere 2 percent of revenues. Natan had the bad luck to take charge of the studio just as the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

convulsed the French economy.Willems, Gilles "Les origines de Pathé-Natan" In ''Une Histoire Économique du Cinéma Français (1895–1995), Regards Croisés Franco-Américains'', Pierre-Jean Benghozi and Christian Delage, eds. Paris: Harmattan, Collection Champs Visuels, 1997. English translation
"The origins of Pathé-Natan."
''La Trobe University''. Retrieved: 1 January 2017.Abel, Richard. ''French Cinema: The First Wave 1915–1929'' Paperback ed. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1987, . Natan attempted to steady Pathé's finances and implement modern film industry practices at the studio. Natan acquired another film studio,

Société des Cinéromans The Société des Cinéromans was a French film production company of the silent movie era. History In 1919, Gaston Leroux founded the Société des Cinéromans in Nice with René Navarre and Arthur Bernède to publish novels and turn them into ...

, from

Arthur Bernède Arthur Bernède (5 January 1871 – 20 March 1937) was a French writer, poet, opera librettist, and playwright. Bernède was born in Redon, Ille-et-Vilaine department, in Brittany. In 1919, Bernède joined forces with actor René Navarre, who ...

and

Gaston Leroux Gaston Louis Alfred Leroux (6 May 186815 April 1927) was a French journalist and author of detective fiction. In the English-speaking world, he is best known for writing the novel ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra, 1 ...

, which enabled Pathé to expand into projector and electronics manufacturing. He also bought the Fornier chain of motion picture theatres and rapidly expanded the chain's nationwide presence.Willems, Gilles.
Les Origines du Groupe Pathé-Natan et le Modele Americain
" ''Vingtième Siècle'' 46, April–June 1995. The French press, however, attacked Natan mercilessly for his stewardship of Pathé. Many of these attacks were

antisemitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

. Pathé-Natan did well under Natan's guidance. Between 1930 and 1935, despite the world economic crisis, the company made 100 million

francs The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centu ...

in profits, and produced and released more than 60 feature films (just as many films as major American studios produced at the time). He resumed production of the newsreel

, which had not been produced since 1927. Natan also invested heavily into research and development to expand Pathé's film business. In 1929, he pushed Pathé into

sound film A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...

. In September, the studio produced its first sound feature film, and its first sound newsreel a month later. Natan also launched two new cinema-related magazines, ''Pathé-Revue'' and ''Actualités Féminines'', to help market Pathé's films and build consumer demand for cinema. Under Natan, Pathé also funded the research of Henri Chrétien, who developed the

anamorphic lens Anamorphic format is the cinematography technique of shooting a widescreen picture on standard 35 mm film or other visual recording media with a non-widescreen native aspect ratio. It also refers to the projection format in which a distorte ...

(leading to the creation of

CinemaScope CinemaScope is an anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its creation in 1953 by ...

and other

widescreen Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than t ...

film formats common today). Natan expanded Pathé's business interests into communications industries other than film. In November 1929, Natan established France's first

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

company, Télévision-Baird-Natan. A year later, he purchased a

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

station in

and formed a holding company (Radio-Natan-Vitus) to run what would become a burgeoning radio empire. But in 1935, Pathé went bankrupt. In order to finance the company's continued expansion, Pathé's board of directors (which still included Charles Pathé) voted in 1930 to issue shares worth 105 million francs. But with the depression deepening, only 50 percent of the shares were purchased. One of the investor banks collapsed due to financial difficulties unrelated to Pathé's problems, and Pathé was forced to follow through with the purchase of several movie theatre chains it no longer could afford to buy. Although the company continued to make a profit (as noted above), it lost more money than it could bring in. The collapse of Pathé led French authorities to

indict An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of an ...

Bernard Natan on charges of

fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...

. Natan was accused of financing the purchase of the company without any collateral, of bilking investors by establishing fictitious

shell corporation A shell corporation is a company or corporation that exists only on paper and has no office and no employees, but may have a bank account or may hold passive investments or be the registered owner of assets, such as intellectual property, or s ...

s, and negligent financial mismanagement. Natan was even accused of hiding his Romanian and Jewish heritage by changing his name. Natan was indicted and imprisoned in 1939. A second indictment was brought in 1941, and he was convicted shortly thereafter. He was removed from prison by the French authorities in September 1942, delivered to the Nazis, and deported to

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

where he died in October 1942. The company was forced to undergo a restructuring in 1943 and was acquired by Adrien Ramauge. Over the years, the business underwent a number of changes including diversification into producing programmes for the burgeoning television industry. During the 1970s, operating theatres overtook film production as Pathé's primary source of revenue. In the late 1980s, Italian financier Giancarlo Parretti tried to make a bid for Pathé, even taking over

Cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

and renaming it Pathé Communications in anticipation of owning the storied studio. Parretti's shady past, however, raised enough eyebrows in the French government that the deal fell through. It turned out to be a fortunate decision, as Parretti later took over

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

, and merged it with his Pathé Communications Group to create

MGM-Pathé Communications MGM-Pathé Communications was an American film production company that operated in Los Angeles County, California from 1990 to 1992. The company was founded and controlled by Italian financier Giancarlo Parretti through his purchase and merger ...

in 1990, only to lose it in bankruptcy in late 1991.

Jérôme Seydoux

In 1990

Chargeurs Chargeurs Réunis (United Shippers) is a major French company formed in 1872. It is now known as Chargeurs (). Profile and management Chargeurs is a global, diversified group with leadership positions in niche markets, both in manufacturing and ...

, a French conglomerate led by Jérôme Seydoux, took control of the company. As a result of the deregulation of the French telecommunications market, in June 1999 Pathé merged with

Vivendi Vivendi SE is a French mass media holding company headquartered in Paris. Widely known as the owner of Gameloft, Groupe Canal+, Havas, Editis, Prisma Media, Vivendi Village and Dailymotion, the company has activities in television, film, video ...

, with the exchange ratio for the merger fixed at three Vivendi shares for every two Pathé shares. ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' estimated the value of the deal at US$2.59 billion. Following the completion of the merger, Vivendi retained Pathé's interests in

British Sky Broadcasting Sky UK Limited is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television and broadband Internet services, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers and businesses in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of ...

and CanalSatellite, a French broadcasting corporation, but then sold all remaining assets to Jérôme Seydoux's family-owned corporation, Fornier SA, which changed its name to Pathé.

Assets

A list of current and former assets of Pathé.

Current assets

(cinema chain) * Pathé Film (movie production with units in France and the United Kingdom.) * Pathé Distribution (distributor in France, The United Kingdom and Switzerland, with a catalogue of over 800 films.) * Pathé Live (distributor of event cinema.) * The OL Groupe (19,98% capital / 24,33 voting rights) (football club)

Former assets

Comédie+ Comédie+ (formerly Comédie!) is a French cable network showing humorous programs since 1997. It bears some resemblance to Comedy Central; even the ''comédie'' word in the name is used in the very broad American meaning. It is directed by Domi ...

bought in 2003, sold in 2004 to the

Canal+ Group Groupe Canal+ is a French mass media company. It is owned and controlled by Vivendi and has a film library in excess of 5,000 films. Vivendi has sold some parts of Canal+ to private investors which are still using the name of Canal+. It is headqu ...

(via

MultiThématiques MultiThématiques is a French company created in 1988, that publishes thematic television channels broadcast by cable and by satellite on the Canalsat satellite provider. The president and CEO of the company is Michel Denisot. History MultiThéma ...

). * Cuisine.tv created in 2001 with RF2K, sold in 2011 to the

(via

). * Histoire created in 1997, owned 30%, sold in 2004 to the

TF1 Group TF1 Group (french: Groupe TF1) is a French media holding company. Its best-known property is the broadcast network TF1. The group was formed after TF1 was privatized in April 1987. It is controlled with a 43% stake by Bouygues, and is quoted ...

. *

Pathé Sport Sport+ was a French pay television channel on cable and satellite owned by Canal+ and is devoted to live sports broadcasting. History The channel originally launched on December 23, 1996 as AB Sports. AB Sports was created by AB Groupe to be the ...

bought in 1998, sold in 2002 to

. * TMC bought 80% in 2002, sold in 2004 to

and

AB Groupe Mediawan Thematics (formerly known as AB Groupe) is a French business group in the field of broadcasting. It was founded in 1977 by Jean-Luc Azoulay and Claude Berda as a music production company, and in 1987 went into the world of television. ...

. *

Voyage Voyage(s) or The Voyage may refer to: Literature *''Voyage : A Novel of 1896'', Sterling Hayden * ''Voyage'' (novel), a 1996 science fiction novel by Stephen Baxter *''The Voyage'', Murray Bail * "The Voyage" (short story), a 1921 story by ...

bought in 1997, sold in 2004 to

Fox International Channels Fox Networks Group (FNG) is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company that oversees international television assets that were acquired from 21st Century Fox. It produces and distributes more than 300 entertainment, film, sports and factual channe ...

. * Vis Pathé Cinemas sold in 2010 to UCI Italia. * Fox Pathé Europa (joint venture with

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., doing business as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, is the home entertainment distribution arm of The Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films, television series, an ...

and

EuropaCorp EuropaCorp S.A. (stylised in opening logo as EUROPA CORP.) is a French motion picture company headquartered in Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris, and one of a few full service independent studios that both produces and distributes feature ...

), closed in 2020. *

International distribution

France

In its home country France, Pathé self-distributes its films through Pathé Distribution (formerly called AMLF (''Agence méditerranéenne de location de films'') from 1972 to 1998). On home video, their films are distributed by Fox Pathé Europa, a joint venture between

, Pathé and

United Kingdom

From the beginning of the 80's, Pathé released their movies through

Guild Film Distribution Guild Home Video (GHV) or Guild Film Distribution was one of the first video distribution companies to start operating in the UK. Unlike other independent labels such as Intervision or Videoform, GHV not only survived for a very long time, but c ...

and

Guild Home Video Guild Home Video (GHV) or Guild Film Distribution was one of the first video distribution companies to start operating in the UK. Unlike other independent labels such as Intervision or Videoform, GHV not only survived for a very long time, but c ...

. After Pathé purchased Guild in 1996,

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment (commonly referred to as 20th Home Video, or 20th Home Entertainment, formerly known as 20th Century-Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video, Fox Video, and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) is a home video label of Wa ...

(later

) took over as the home video distributor, while the then-renamed Guild Pathé Cinema took over theatrically, which was eventually renamed as Pathé Distribution in 1998. Guild Home Video remained as an in-name only dormant business of Pathé until folding on 17 December 2019. In 2009, Pathé closed their standalone distribution unit in the UK and instead partnered up with

Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of ...

to instead release their own produced movies and

Pedro Almodóvar Pedro Almodóvar Caballero (; (often known simply as Almodóvar) born 25 September 1949) is a Spanish filmmaker. His films are marked by melodrama, irreverent humour, bold colour, glossy décor, quotations from popular culture, and complex narr ...

's movies theatrically after the U.S. failure of ''

Doogal ''The Magic Roundabout'' (known as ''Pollux – Le manège enchanté'' in France) is a 2005 Computer animation, computer-animated Adventure film, adventure fantasy film based on the original stop motion and computer generated imagery reboot The ...

'' and the U.K. failure of ''

The Hottie and the Nottie ''The Hottie and The Nottie'' (stylized as ''The Hottie & The Nottie'') is a 2008 American romantic comedy film starring Paris Hilton, Joel David Moore, and Christine Lakin. Written by Heidi Ferrer and directed by Tom Putnam, the film began shooti ...

'', causing two of their films ''

Chatroom The term chat room, or chatroom (and sometimes group chat; abbreviated as GC), is primarily used to describe any form of synchronous conferencing, occasionally even asynchronous conferencing. The term can thus mean any technology, ranging from ...

'' and ''

Dead Man Running ''Dead Man Running '' is a 2009 British crime comedy film directed by Alex De Rakoff, written by De Rakoff and John Luton, and starring Tamer Hassan and Danny Dyer. Football players Ashley Cole and Rio Ferdinand served as executive producers. ...

'' being transferred to the now defunct UK distributor

Revolver Entertainment Revolver Entertainment is a film distributor in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. Justin Marciano founded it in 1997 in the UK and Revolver UK entered administration in April 2013. Justin's brother, Seb Marciano formed Revolver En ...

and '' The Illusionist'' in 2010 being their last standalone distributor film to date, while retaining 20th Century Fox as the home video distributor. On 1 February 2011, Fox took over as Pathé's theatrical distributor as well. With the purchase of 20th Century Fox from

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

on 20 March 2019,

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, formerly known as Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Inc. until 2007, is an American film distribution studio within the Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. It ha ...

took over distributing Pathé's material, releasing '' Misbehaviour'' and ''

The Human Voice ''The Human Voice'' (french: La voix humaine) is a monodrama first staged at the Comédie-Française in 1930, written two years earlier by Jean Cocteau. It is set in Paris, where a still-quite-young woman is on the phone with her lover of the l ...

''. On 7 June 2021, it was announced that

would return to distributing Pathé films in the UK after the then-current deal with Disney expired on 30 June 2021 with the first films being released under the new deal being ''

Parallel Mothers ''Parallel Mothers'' ( es, Madres paralelas, links=no) is a 2021 Spanish drama film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar. The film stars Penélope Cruz and Milena Smit and features Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Israel Elejalde, Julieta Serrano a ...

'' and '' The Duke''. Unlike the 2009 deal, this new deal will include home video and digital rights as well, which Fox/Disney previously handled.

Films

1980s

* '' The Apple'' (France distribution only) * '' The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover'' (France distribution only) * '' Felix the Cat: The Movie'' (France distribution only) * '' Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers'' (France distribution only) * '' Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers'' (France distribution only) * '' Highlander'' (France distribution only) * ''

Kickboxer Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general ...

'' (France distribution only) * ''

Pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

'' (France distribution only) * '' Prom Night'' (France distribution only) * ''

Rambo III ''Rambo III'' is a 1988 American action film directed by Peter MacDonald and co-written by Sylvester Stallone, who also reprises his role as Vietnam War veteran John Rambo. A sequel to '' Rambo: First Blood Part II'' (1985), it is the third in ...

'' (France distribution only; co-production with

Carolco Pictures Carolco Pictures, Inc. was an American independent film studio that existed from 1976 to 1995, founded by Mario Kassar and Andrew G. Vajna. Kassar and Vajna ran Carolco together until 1989, when Vajna left to form Cinergi Pictures. Carolco hit ...

) * ''

Scanners ''Scanners'' is a 1981 Canadian science fiction horror film written and directed by David Cronenberg and starring Stephen Lack, Jennifer O'Neill, Michael Ironside, and Patrick McGoohan. In the film, "scanners" are psychics with unusual telepathic ...

'' (France distribution only) * ''

Sex, Lies, and Videotape ''Sex, Lies, and Videotape'' (often written in all lowercase as ''sex, lies, and videotape'') is a 1989 American Independent film, independent Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Steven Soderbergh. The plot tells the s ...

'' (France distribution only)

1990s

* ''

Asterix & Obelix Take On Caesar ''Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar'' (french: Astérix & Obélix contre César) is a 1999 feature film directed by Claude Zidi, the first installment in the ''Asterix'' film series based on Goscinny and Uderzo's Astérix comics. The film combines ...

'' (UK and France distribution only; co-production with

Canal+ Canal+ (Canal Plus, , meaning 'Channel Plus'; sometimes abbreviated C+ or Canal) is a French premium television channel launched in 1984. It is 100% owned by the Groupe Canal+, which in turn is owned by Vivendi. The channel broadcasts several ki ...

and TF1) * '' Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery'' (UK distribution only; produced by

New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after acq ...

) * '' Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me'' (UK distribution only; produced by

) * ''

Basic Instinct ''Basic Instinct'' is a 1992 neo-noir erotic thriller film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas. The film follows San Francisco police detective Nick Curran (Michael Douglas), who is investigating the brutal murder of a wealt ...

'' (UK and France distribution only; co-production with

) * ''

The Blair Witch Project ''The Blair Witch Project'' is a 1999 American supernatural horror film written, directed and edited by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez (director), Eduardo Sánchez. It is a fictional story of three student filmmakers—Heather Donahue, Mic ...

'' (UK distribution only) * ''

Bound Bound or bounds may refer to: Mathematics * Bound variable * Upper and lower bounds, observed limits of mathematical functions Physics * Bound state, a particle that has a tendency to remain localized in one or more regions of space Geography *B ...

'' (UK distribution only) * ''

Cliffhanger A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode or a film of serialized fiction. A cliffhang ...

'' (UK and France distribution only; co-production with

) * ''

Cutthroat Island ''Cutthroat Island'' is a 1995 adventure swashbuckler film directed by Renny Harlin and written by Robert King and Marc Norman from a story by Michael Frost Beckner, James Gorman, Bruce A. Evans and Raynold Gideon. It stars Geena Davis, Matthew ...

'' (UK and France distribution only; co-production with

and

) * ''

Dumb and Dumber ''Dumb and Dumber'' is a 1994 American buddy comedy film directed by Peter Farrelly, who cowrote the screenplay with Bobby Farrelly and Bennett Yellin. It is the first installment in the ''Dumb and Dumber'' franchise. Starring Jim Carrey and ...

'' (France distribution only) * ''

Event Horizon In astrophysics, an event horizon is a boundary beyond which events cannot affect an observer. Wolfgang Rindler coined the term in the 1950s. In 1784, John Michell proposed that gravity can be strong enough in the vicinity of massive compact obj ...

'' (France distribution only; co-production with

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

) * ''

The Fifth Element ''The Fifth Element'' is a 1997 English-language French science fiction action film conceived and directed by Luc Besson, as well as co-written by Besson and Robert Mark Kamen. It stars Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Chris Tucker, and Milla Jov ...

'' (UK distribution only; co-production with Gaumont) * '' Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare'' (UK distribution only; co-production with

) * ''

Grey Owl Archibald Stansfeld Belaney (; September 18, 1888 – April 13, 1938), commonly known as Grey Owl, was a British-born conservationist, fur trapper, and writer who disguised himself as a Native American man. While he achieved fame as a co ...

'' (UK distribution only; co-production with

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

Largo Entertainment Largo Entertainment was a production company founded in 1989. It was run by film producer Lawrence Gordon and was backed by electronics firm Victor Company of Japan, Ltd. (JVC) in an investment that cost more than $100 million. The production c ...

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

History

Pathé Records

Pathé films

Innovations

Natan to Parretti

Jérôme Seydoux

Assets

Current assets

Former assets

International distribution

France

United Kingdom

Films

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

French

2020s

French

British

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links