Toulouse: why Gaumont Wilson is now called Pathé Wilson
Since June 16, the Gaumont Wilson has gone under the “Pathé” brand. We tell you why.
We should no longer say “Gaumont Wilson”, but “Pathé Wilson”. Since June 16, 2022, the signs with golden letters have been changed, on the front of the Toulouse cinema.
Pathé replaces Gaumont, but nothing revolutionary internally, since since 2017, Pathé has owned the Gaumont rooms. The two companies merged in 2001, Gaumont refocusing on distribution and production, and Pathé on theaters throughout France.
Gradually, the Gaumont brand will therefore disappear from all the storefronts. After Gaumont Wilson, Gaumont Labège will become Pathé Labège in 2023.
Labège will also come under the Pathé brand in 2023
“It’s in the order of things, comments Daniel Paulard, director of Pathé Wilson. For us, it hardly changes anything. The teams remain in place. The signs in gold letters, which were made by a local specialist, have of course changed. They comply with the standards of the Bâtiments de France, for all the signs on Place Wilson. Our work outfits are also going to be slightly priced, but there will be no decoration changes inside.”
1 million admissions per year in 2019
The Pathé Wilson is one of the locomotives of the agglomeration, with more than a million admissions in 2019. Post-Covid attendance is, however, struggling to return to its pre-pandemic levels. “It will certainly take us two or three years before we get back on track,” says the director.
The Gaumont company had owned the Place Wilson cinema since 1919. At the time, the cinema was called the “Gaumont Palace”. The original building was destroyed in 1974 to make way for the current one. The Pathé Wilson will renovate some of its buildings at the end of the summer. The last major renovation of the cinema dates from 2015.