Early hollywood studios operated according to an economy based on vertical integration.

The years 1927 and 1928 are generally seen as the beginning of Hollywood's Golden Age and the final major steps in establishing studio system control of the American film business. The success of 1927's The Jazz Singer, the first feature-length "talkie" (in fact, the majority of its scenes did not have live-recorded sound) gave a big boost to the then midsized Warner Bros. studio. The following year saw both the general introduction of sound throughout the industry and two more smashes for Warners: The Singing Fool, The Jazz Singer's even more profitable follow-up, and Hollywood's first "all-talking" feature, Lights of New York. Just as significant were a number of offscreen developments. Warner Bros., now flush with income, acquired the extensive Stanley theater chain in September 1928. One month later, it purchased a controlling interest in the First National production company, more prominent than Warners itself not long before. With the First National acquisition came not only a 135-acre (55 ha) studio and backlot but another large string of movie theaters. Warners had hit the big time.

The last of the "Big Five" Hollywood conglomerates of the Golden Age emerged in 1928: RKO Pictures. The Radio Corporation of America (RCA), led by David Sarnoff, was looking for ways to exploit the cinema sound patents, newly trademarked RCA Photophone, owned by its parent company, General Electric. As the leading film production companies were all preparing to sign exclusive agreements with Western Electric for their technology, RCA got into the movie business itself. In January, General Electric acquired a sizable interest in Film Booking Offices of America (FBO), a distributor and small production company owned by Joseph P. Kennedy, father of future president John F. Kennedy. In October, through a set of stock transfers, RCA gained control of both FBO and the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chain; merging them into a single venture, it created the Radio-Keith-Orpheum Corporation, Sarnoff chairing the board. With RKO and Warner Bros. (soon to become Warner Bros.–First National) joining Fox, Paramount, and Loew's/MGM as major players, the Big Five that would remain for thirty years were now in place.

Although RKO was an exception, the heads of studios on the west coast, the 'movie moguls', had mostly been in place for some years: Louis B. Mayer at MGM, Jack L. Warner at Warner Bros., Adolph Zukor at Paramount, William Fox and Darryl F. Zanuck (at 20th Century Fox from 1935), Carl Laemmle at Universal, and Harry Cohn at Columbia.

The ranking of the Big Five in terms of profitability (closely related to market share) was largely consistent during the Golden Age: MGM was number one eleven years running, 1931–41. Paramount, the most profitable studio of the early sound era (1928–30), faded for the better part of the subsequent decade, and Fox was number two for most of MGM's reign. Paramount began a steady climb in 1940, finally edging past MGM two years later; from then until its reorganization in 1949 it was again the most financially successful of the Big Five. With the exception of 1932—when all the companies but MGM lost money, and RKO lost somewhat less than its competitors—RKO was next to last or (usually) last every year of the Golden Age, with Warner generally hanging alongside at the back of the pack. Of the smaller majors, the Little Three, United Artists reliably held up the rear, with Columbia strongest in the 1930s and Universal ahead for most of the 1940s.[1]

Hollywood's success grew during the Great Depression, possibly because films helped audiences escape their personal difficulties. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said of Shirley Temple, "When the spirit of the people is lower than at any other time during this Depression, it is a splendid thing that for just fifteen cents an American can go to a movie and look at the smiling face of a baby and forget his troubles".[2] By 1939 there were 15,000 movie theaters in the United States, more than banks; the number of theaters per capita was twice that of the mid-1980s. The cinema industry was larger than that for office machines. While only the 14th largest by revenue, it was second in the percentage of profits that its executives received. Top stars such as Bing Crosby and Claudette Colbert were paid more than $400,000 a year ($7,792,344 today[3]).[4]

One of the techniques used to support the studio system was block booking, a system of selling multiple films to a theater as a unit. Such a unit—five films was the standard practice for most of the 1940s—typically included only one particularly outstanding film, the rest a mix of A-budget pictures of lesser quality and B movies.[5] As Life magazine wrote in 1957 in a retrospective on the studio system, "It wasn't good entertainment and it wasn't art, and most of the movies produced had a uniform mediocrity, but they were also uniformly profitable ... The million-dollar mediocrity was the very backbone of Hollywood."[6]

On May 4, 1948, in a federal antitrust suit known as the Paramount case brought against the entire Big Five, the U.S. Supreme Court specifically outlawed block booking. Holding that the conglomerates were indeed in violation of antitrust, the justices refrained from making a final decision as to how that fault should be remedied, but the case was sent back to the lower court from which it had come with language that suggested divorcement—the complete separation of exhibition interests from producer-distributor operations—was the answer. The Big Five, though, seemed united in their determination to fight on and drag out legal proceedings for years as they had already proven adept at—after all, the Paramount suit had originally been filed on July 20, 1938.

However, behind the scenes at RKO, long the financially shakiest of the conglomerates, the court ruling came to be looked at as a development that could be used to the studio's advantage. The same month that the decision was handed down, multimillionaire Howard Hughes acquired a controlling interest in the company. As RKO controlled the fewest theaters of any of the Big Five, Hughes decided that starting a divorcement domino effect could actually help put his studio on a more equal footing with his competitors. Hughes signaled his willingness to the federal government to enter into a consent decree obliging the breakup of his movie business. Under the agreement, Hughes would split his studio into two entities, RKO Pictures Corporation and RKO Theatres Corporation, and commit to selling off his stake in one or the other by a certain date. Hughes's decision to concede to divorcement terminally undermined the argument by lawyers for the rest of the Big Five that such breakups were unfeasible.

While many today point to the May court ruling, it is actually Hughes's agreement with the federal government—signed November 8, 1948—that was truly the death knell for the Golden Age of Hollywood. Paramount soon capitulated, entering into a similar consent decree the following February. The studio, which had fought against divorcement for so long, became the first of the majors to break up, ahead of schedule, finalizing divestiture on December 31, 1949. By this time, there were 19,000 movie theaters in the United States.[7]

Through Hughes's deal with the federal authorities, and those by the other studios that soon followed, the studio system lingered on for another half-decade. The major studio that adapted to the new circumstances with the most immediate success was the smallest, United Artists; under a new management team that took over in 1951, overhead was cut by terminating its lease arrangement with the Pickford-Fairbanks production facility and new relationships with independent producers, now often involving direct investment, were forged—a business model that Hollywood would increasingly emulate in coming years. The studio system around which the industry had been organized for three decades finally expired in 1954, when Loew's, the last holdout, severed all operational ties with MGM.

Hughes's gambit helped break the studio system, but it did little for RKO. His disruptive leadership—coupled with the draining away of audiences to television that was affecting the entire industry—took a toll on the studio that was evident to Hollywood observers. When Hughes sought to bail out of his RKO interest in 1952, he had to turn to a Chicago-based syndicate led by shady dealers without motion picture experience. The deal fell through, so Hughes was back in charge when the RKO theater chain was finally sold off as mandated in 1953. That year, General Tire and Rubber Company, which was expanding its small, decade-old broadcasting division, approached Hughes concerning the availability of RKO's film library for programming. Hughes acquired near-complete ownership of RKO Pictures in December 1954 and consummated a sale with General Tire for the entire studio the following summer.

The new owners quickly made some of their money back by selling the TV rights for the library they treasured to C&C Television Corp., a beverage company subsidiary. (RKO retained the rights for the few TV stations General Tire had brought along.) Under the deal, the films were stripped of their RKO identity before being sent by C&C to local stations; the famous opening logo, with its globe and radio tower, was removed, as were the studio's other trademarks.

Back in Hollywood, RKO's new owners were encountering little success in the moviemaking business and by 1957 General Tire shut down production and sold the main RKO facilities to Desilu, the production company of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Just like United Artists, the studio now no longer had a studio; unlike UA, it barely owned its old movies and saw no profit in the making of new ones. In 1959 it abandoned the movie business entirely.

While the studio system is largely identified as an American phenomenon, film production companies in other countries did at times achieve and maintain full integration in a manner similar to Hollywood's Big Five. As historian James Chapman describes,

In Britain, only two companies ever achieved full vertical integration (the Rank Organization and the Associated British Picture Corporation). Other countries where some level of vertical integration occurred were Germany during the 1920s (Universum Film Aktiengesellschaft, or Ufa), France during the 1930s (Gaumont-Franco-Film-Aubert and Pathé-Natan) and Japan (Nikkatsu, Shochiku and Toho). In Hong Kong, Shaw Brothers adopted the studio system for its wuxia films throughout the 1950s-'60s. India, which represents perhaps the only serious rival to the U.S. film industry due to its dominance of both its own and the Asian diasporic markets, has, in contrast, never achieved any degree of vertical integration.[8]

For instance, in 1929 nearly 75 percent of Japanese movie theaters were connected with either Nikkatsu or Shochiku, the two biggest studios at the time.[9]

Further information: Major film studios

We find ourselves ... dealing with corporations rather than with individuals.

— Harry Cohn of Columbia Pictures, 1957[6]

In the 1950s Hollywood faced three great challenges: The Paramount case ending the studio system, the new popularity of television, and consumer spending providing its audience with many other leisure options. The scale of both box office successes and flops grew, with a "dangerous middle" consisting of films that in the previous era would have made money. A filmmaker stated in 1957 that "[t]he one absolute disaster today is to make a million-dollar mediocrity. One of these you can lose not only your total investment but your total shirt." By that year Hollywood was only making about 300 feature films a year, compared to about 700 during the 1920s.[6] Darryl F. Zanuck, head of 20th Century Fox, had no direct involvement with the studio from 1956 to 1962,[10] and Louis B. Mayer, sacked in 1951 from MGM, died in 1957.[11] Harry Cohn of Columbia, who died the following year,[12] informed investors in the studio's annual report of 1957 that:

We find ourselves in a highly competitive market for these talents [stars, directors, producers, writers]. Under today's tax structures, salary to those we are dealing with is less inviting than the opportunity for capital gains. We find ourselves, therefore, dealing with corporations rather than with individuals. We find ourselves, too, forced to deal in terms of a percentage of the film's profits, rather than in a guaranteed salary as in the past. This is most notable among the top stars.[6]

Most actors became freelancers after the end of the studio system.[13] Financial backers increasingly demanded star actors, directors, and writers for projects to reduce risk of failure. The growing importance of the overseas market—40 to 50% of Hollywood's total revenue by 1957—also emphasized stars' names as box-office attractions. With their new power, "working for nothing"—receiving a percentage of profit instead of a salary—became a status symbol for stars. A top actor could expect 50% of profit, with a minimum guarantee, or 10% of gross revenue. Cary Grant, for example, received more than $700,000 (equivalent to $5.4 million in 2020) from his 10% of the gross for To Catch a Thief (1955), while director and producer Alfred Hitchcock received less than $50,000. In one extreme case, Paramount promised Marlon Brando 75% of the profit of what became One-Eyed Jacks (1961). (Because of Hollywood accounting, studios still received much of the revenue before any profit sharing; thus, they preferred 50% of profit to 10% of gross.) The larger paychecks also increased the power of talent agents such as Lew Wasserman of MCA, whose office was now nicknamed "Fort Knox".[6]

By 1957, independent producers made 50% of full-length American films. Beyond working for others, top actors such as Gregory Peck and Frank Sinatra created their own production companies and purchased scripts. Top independent directors George Stevens, Billy Wilder, and William Wyler also saw their paychecks increase, in part because their involvement attracted star actors. Studios increasingly provided funding and facilities to independent producers as opposed to making their own films, or just like United Artists, they focused on distribution. While television had damaged Hollywood, TV production companies such as Desilu and the film studios' own TV divisions helped save the industry by using otherwise-unused facilities.[6]

Syndication, television, recession, and conglomerate Hollywood

At the beginning of the 1960s the major studios began to reissue older films for syndication and transformed into mainly producing telefilms and b-movies to supply TV's demand for programming.[14]: 17  Between 1969 and 1971 the industry underwent a severe recession, due in part to big-budget flops, but soon recovered artistically with such films as The Godfather (1972) and Chinatown (1974).

Steven Spielberg's 1975 Jaws[15][16] and George Lucas's Star Wars (1977) became the prototype for the modern blockbuster.[14]: 19  Prior to Jaws, most films would initially be released in a few key cities, and would later spread to "secondary markets" across the country based on the response in those markets — a system called "platforming."[16] Jaws was instead immediately released simultaneously across the country, and backed by a $700,000 TV advertizing budget — the first time that trailers were released on network television — along with extensive promotional merchandizing.[16] The release of films at hundreds of venues became the norm, with hits such as the sequels to Lucas's Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, Spielberg's back-to-back successes with Raiders of the Lost Ark and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and the development of home-video and cable television. Meanwhile, the uncontrolled budget of Heaven's Gate (1980), and its limited box-office revenue, led to the sale of United Artists.

From 1990 to 1995, New Hollywood turned into more of a conglomerate Hollywood and quickly dominating the entire global entertainment industry.[14]: 25–26  Today, three of the Golden Age majors—Universal, Paramount, and Warner Bros.—continue to exist as major Hollywood studio entities, all of which were taken over by many different companies that were acquired by and merged with larger media conglomerates. Furthermore to date, Disney's Walt Disney Studios has emerged as a major, while Sony merged Columbia and TriStar to form Sony Pictures, resulting in a "Big Six" until the acquisition of 20th Century Fox by Disney announced in late 2017 was completed in early 2019, becoming a "Big Five" once again. Not including Disney and Sony, all of these so-called major studios are essentially based on the model not of the classic Big Five, but of the old United Artists: that is, they are primarily backer-distributors (and physical studio leasers) rather than actual production companies.

In 1996, Time Warner acquired the once-independent New Line Cinema via its purchase of Turner Broadcasting System. In 2008, New Line was merged into Warner Bros., where it continues to exist as a subsidiary. Each of today's Big Five controls quasi-independent "arthouse" divisions, such as Paramount Vantage. Miramax Films (which originally was an independent studio) was owned by Disney until 2010. Most also have divisions that focus on genre movies, B movies either literally by virtue of their low budgets, or spiritually—for instance, Sony's Screen Gems. One so-called indie division, Universal's Focus Features, releases arthouse films under that primary brand. Both Focus and Disney's arthouse division, Searchlight Pictures, are large enough to qualify as mini-majors. Two large independent firms also qualify as mini-majors, Lionsgate and Metro Goldwyn Mayer. They stand somewhere between latter-day versions of the old "major-minor"—just like Columbia and Universal were in the 1930s and 1940s, except Lionsgate and The W.C. have about half their market share—and leading Golden Age independent production outfits such as Samuel Goldwyn Inc. and the companies of David O. Selznick.

Independent era and the beginning of the Second Decline

In the mid-2010s, major studios shifted towards producing mainstream films that appeal to the audience (genre films, sequels, 3-D, and superhero films). Many of these films risk losing money at the box-office (and some, in fact, have). This, in part, precipitated the Second Decline, as most audiences began to turn away from going to movie theatres. With this new decline, an opportunity opened up for independent companies to produce films that in recent years have upset other major studio films for the Academy Award for Best Picture. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (which produces the annual Academy Awards) generally award Best Picture Oscars to films of substance and high quality rather than the popular mainstream film. In recent years, the multiple award wins for independent films such as Spotlight (Open Road, 2015), Moonlight (A24, 2016), Parasite (Neon, 2019), and CODA (Apple TV+, 2021) had a major impact on box-office intake of other major studio films, and possibly the fate of major studios themselves, and even so today with the latest wave of independent films. This continuing dominance of the independent film is proof that its success is not dependent on any film format, whether it be 3-D, CinemaScope, or any large-format such as IMAX. The recent outcomes of the Cannes Film Festival and the lack of American films winning these awards may also have affected the dominance of independent film.

The current COVID-19 crisis has also contributed to the current decline, as more and more audiences began switching from movie theatres to streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, and the aforementioned Apple TV+.

•  Film portal
•  1920s portal
•  1960s portal

• Pre-Code Hollywood

1. ^ Financial analysis based on Finler (1988), pp. 286–287.
2. ^ "Shirley Temple, iconic child star, dies at 85", Associated Press (February 11, 2014).
3. ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved April 16, 2022.
4. ^ Friedrich, Otto (1997). City of Nets: A Portrait of Hollywood in the 1940s (reprint ed.). Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. pp. 13–14. ISBN 0-520-20949-4.
5. ^ See Schatz (1999), pp. 19–21, 45, 72.
6. ^ a b c d e f Hodgins, Eric (1957-06-10). "Amid Ruins of an Empire a New Hollywood Arises". Life. p. 146. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
7. ^ [Harris, Warren G. Lucy and Desi. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1991. p.149]
8. ^ Chapman (2003), p. 49.
9. ^ Freiberg (2000), "The Film Industry."
10. ^ Douglas Martin "Richard Zanuck, Producer of Blockbusters, Dies at 77", New York Times, 13 July 2012
11. ^ Leo Verswijver (ed.) Movies Were Always Magical: Interviews With 19 Actors, Directors, and Producers from the Hollywood of the 1930s Through the 1950s, Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2003, p.60, n.1
12. ^ Bernard F. Dick Columbia Pictures: Portrait of a Studio, University of Kentucky Press, p.2
13. ^ Davis, L. J. (1989-07-09). "Hollywood's Most Secret Agent". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
14. ^ a b c McDonald, Wasko, Paul, Janet (2008). The Contemporary Hollywood Film Industry. MA: Blackwell Publishing. p. 17. ISBN 978-1-4051-3387-6.
15. ^ "Jaws – The Monster That Ate Hollywood". PBS. 2001. Archived from the original on April 10, 2006. Retrieved August 6, 2006.
16. ^ a b c "Rise of the Blockbuster". BBC News. November 16, 2001. Retrieved March 14, 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

• Bergan, Ronald (1986). The United Artists Story. New York: Crown. ISBN 0-517-56100-X
• Chapman, James (2003). Cinemas of the World: Film and Society from 1895 to the Present. London: Reaktion Books. ISBN 1-86189-162-8
• Finler, Joel W. (1988). The Hollywood Story. New York: Crown. ISBN 0-517-56576-5
• Goodwin, Doris Kearns (1987). The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-671-23108-1
• Hirschhorn, Clive (1979). The Warner Bros. Story. New York: Crown. ISBN 0-517-53834-2
• Jewell, Richard B., with Vernon Harbin (1982). The RKO Story. New York: Arlington House/Crown. ISBN 0-517-54656-6
• Orbach, Barak Y. (2004). "Antitrust and Pricing in the Motion Picture Industry," Yale Journal on Regulation vol. 21, no. 2, summer (available online).
• Regev, Ronnie (2018). Working in Hollywood: How the Studio System Turned Creativity into Labor. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.
• Schatz, Thomas (1998 [1988]). The Genius of the System: Hollywood Filmmaking in the Studio Era London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-571-19596-2
• Schatz, Thomas (1999 [1997]). Boom and Bust: American Cinema in the 1940s. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-22130-3
• Utterson, Andrew (2005). Technology and Culture—The Film Reader. New York: Routledge/Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0-415-31984-6

• Brand, Paul (2005). "'Nice Town. I'll Take It': Howard Hughes Revisited", Bright Lights Film Journal 47, February.
• Freiberg, Freda (2000). "Comprehensive Connections: The Film Industry, the Theatre and the State in the Early Japanese Cinema", Screening the Past 11, November 1.

• The Hollywood Antitrust Case, aka The Paramount Antitrust Case detailed history from the Society of Independent Motion Picture Producers research archive.

See also: Fox Film and Twentieth Century Pictures

Twentieth Century Pictures' Joseph Schenck and Darryl F. Zanuck left United Artists over a stock dispute, and began merger talks with the management of financially struggling Fox Film, under President Sidney Kent.[12][13]

Spyros Skouras, then manager of the Fox West Coast Theaters, helped make it happen (and later became president of the new company).[12] The company had been struggling since founder William Fox lost control of the company in 1930.[14]

Fox Film Corporation and Twentieth Century Pictures merged together in 1935. Initially, it was speculated in The New York Times that the newly merged company would be named Fox-20th Century Pictures.[15] However, 20th Century brought more to the bargaining table besides Schenck and Zanuck, as it was profitable and had more talent than Fox. The new company, 20th Century-Fox Film Corporation, began trading on May 31, 1935. Kent remained at the company, joining Schenck and Zanuck, thanks to Skouras. [13] Zanuck replaced Winfield Sheehan as the company's production chief.[16]

The company established a special training school. Lynn Bari, Patricia Farr and Anne Nagel were among 14 young women "launched on the trail of film stardom" on August 6, 1935, when they each received a six-month contract with 20th Century-Fox after spending 18 months in the school. The contracts included a studio option for renewal for as long as seven years.[17]

For many years, 20th Century Fox claimed to have been founded in 1915, the year Fox Film was founded. For instance, it marked 1945 as its 30th anniversary. However, it has claimed the 1935 merger as its founding in recent years, even though most film historians agree it was founded in 1915.[18] The company's films retained the 20th Century Pictures searchlight logo on their opening credits as well as its opening fanfare, but with the name changed to 20th Century-Fox.

After the merger was completed, Zanuck signed young actors to help carry 20th Century-Fox: Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Carmen Miranda, Don Ameche, Henry Fonda, Gene Tierney, Sonja Henie, and Betty Grable. 20th Century-Fox also hired Alice Faye and Shirley Temple, who appeared in several major films for the studio in the 1930s.[19][20]

Higher attendance during World War II helped 20th Century-Fox overtake RKO and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to become the third most profitable film studio. In 1941, Zanuck was commissioned as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Signal Corps and assigned to supervise the production of U.S. Army training films. His partner, William Goetz, filled in at 20th Century-Fox.[21]

In 1942, Spyros Skouras succeeded Kent as president of the studio.[22] During the next few years, with pictures like Wilson (1944), The Razor's Edge (1946), Boomerang, Gentleman's Agreement (both 1947), The Snake Pit (1948), and Pinky (1949), Zanuck established a reputation for provocative, adult films. 20th Century-Fox also specialized in adaptations of best-selling books such as Ben Ames Williams' Leave Her to Heaven (1945), starring Gene Tierney, which was the highest-grossing 20th Century-Fox film of the 1940s. The studio also produced film versions of Broadway musicals, including the Rodgers and Hammerstein films, beginning with the musical version of State Fair (1945), the only work that the partnership wrote especially for films.

After the war, audiences slowly drifted away with the advent of television. 20th Century-Fox held on to its theaters until a court-mandated "divorce"; they were spun off as Fox National Theaters in 1953.[23] That year, with attendance at half the 1946 level, 20th Century-Fox gambled on an unproven process. Noting that the two film sensations of 1952 had been Cinerama, which required three projectors to fill a giant curved screen, and "Natural Vision" 3D, which got its effects of depth by requiring the use of polarized glasses, 20th Century-Fox mortgaged its studio to buy rights to a French anamorphic projection system which gave a slight illusion of depth without glasses. President Spyros Skouras struck a deal with the inventor Henri Chrétien, leaving the other film studios empty-handed, and in 1953 introduced CinemaScope in the studio's groundbreaking feature film The Robe.[24]

Zanuck announced in February 1953 that henceforth all 20th Century-Fox pictures would be made in CinemaScope.[25] To convince theater owners to install this new process, 20th Century-Fox agreed to help pay conversion costs (about $25,000 per screen); and to ensure enough product, 20th Century-Fox leased access to CinemaScope to any rival studio choosing to use it. Seeing the box-office for the first two CinemaScope features, The Robe and How to Marry a Millionaire (also 1953), Warner Bros., MGM, RKO, Universal-International, Columbia, UA, Allied Artists, and Disney quickly adopted the process. In 1956, 20th Century-Fox engaged Robert Lippert to establish a subsidiary company, Regal Pictures, later Associated Producers Incorporated to film B pictures in CinemaScope (but "branded" RegalScope). 20th Century-Fox produced new musicals using the CinemaScope process including Carousel and The King and I (both 1956).

CinemaScope brought a brief upturn in attendance, but by 1956 the numbers again began to slide.[26][27] That year Darryl Zanuck announced his resignation as head of production. Zanuck moved to Paris, setting up as an independent producer, seldom being in the United States for many years.

Production and financial problems

Zanuck's successor, producer Buddy Adler, died a year later.[28] President Spyros Skouras brought in a series of production executives, but none had Zanuck's success. By the early 1960s, 20th Century Fox was in trouble. A new version of Cleopatra (1963) began production in 1959 with Joan Collins in the lead.[29] As a publicity gimmick, producer Walter Wanger offered $1 million to Elizabeth Taylor if she would star;[29] she accepted and costs for Cleopatra began to escalate. Richard Burton's on-set romance with Taylor was surrounding the media. However, Skouras' selfish preferences and inexperienced micromanagement on the film's production did nothing to speed up production on Cleopatra.

Meanwhile, another remake—of the Cary Grant hit My Favorite Wife (1940)—was rushed into production in an attempt to turn over a quick profit to help keep 20th Century-Fox afloat. The romantic comedy entitled Something's Got to Give paired Marilyn Monroe, 20th Century-Fox's most bankable star of the 1950s, with Dean Martin and director George Cukor. The troubled Monroe caused delays daily, and it quickly descended into a costly debacle. As Cleopatra's budget passed $10 million, eventually costing around $40 million, 20th Century-Fox sold its back lot (now the site of Century City) to Alcoa in 1961 to raise funds. After several weeks of script rewrites on the Monroe picture and very little progress, mostly due to director George Cukor's filming methods, in addition to Monroe's chronic sinusitis, Monroe was fired from Something's Got to Give[29] and two months later she was found dead. According to 20th Century-Fox files, she was rehired within weeks for a two-picture deal totaling $1  million, $500,000 to finish Something's Got to Give (plus a bonus at completion), and another $500,000 for What a Way to Go. Elizabeth Taylor's bout with pneumonia and the media coverage of the Burton affair allowed Skouras to scapegoat the two stars for all the production setbacks, which helped earn the long-time industry professional Taylor a new disruptive reputation.[30] Challenges on the Cleopatra set continued from 1960 into 1962, though three 20th Century-Fox executives went to Rome in June 1962 to fire her. They learned that director Joseph L. Mankiewicz had filmed out of sequence and had only done interiors, so 20th Century-Fox was then forced to allow Taylor several more weeks of filming. In the meantime during that summer of 1962 Fox released nearly all of its contract stars to offset burgeoning costs, including Jayne Mansfield.[31][32]

With few pictures on the schedule, Skouras wanted to rush Zanuck's big-budget war epic The Longest Day (1962),[29] an accurate account of the Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, with a huge international cast, into release as another source of quick cash. This offended Zanuck, still 20th Century-Fox's largest shareholder, for whom The Longest Day was a labor of love that he had dearly wanted to produce for many years. After it became clear that Something's Got to Give would not be able to progress without Monroe in the lead (Martin had refused to work with anyone else), Skouras finally decided that re-signing her was unavoidable. But days before filming was due to resume, she was found dead at her Los Angeles home and the picture resumed filming as Move Over, Darling, with Doris Day and James Garner in the leads. Released in 1963, the film was a hit.[33] The unfinished scenes from Something's Got to Give were shelved for nearly 40 years. Rather than being rushed into release as if it were a B-picture, The Longest Day was lovingly and carefully produced under Zanuck's supervision. It was finally released at a length of three hours and was well received.

At the next board meeting, Zanuck spoke for eight hours, convincing directors that Skouras was mismanaging the company and that he was the only possible successor. Zanuck was installed as chairman, and then named his son Richard Zanuck as president.[34] This new management group seized Cleopatra and rushed it to completion, shut down the studio, laid off the entire staff to save money, axed the long-running Movietone Newsreel (the archives of which are now owned by Fox News), and made a series of cheap, popular pictures that restored 20th Century-Fox as a major studio. The saving grace for the studio's fortunes came from the tremendous success of The Sound of Music (1965),[35] an expensive and handsomely produced film adaptation of the highly acclaimed Rodgers and Hammerstein Broadway musical, which became a significant success at the box office and won five Academy Awards, including Best Director (Robert Wise) and Best Picture of the Year.

20th Century-Fox also had two big science-fiction hits in the decade: Fantastic Voyage (1966), and the original Planet of the Apes (1968), starring Charlton Heston, Kim Hunter, and Roddy McDowall. Fantastic Voyage was the last film made in CinemaScope; the studio had held on to the format while Panavision lenses were being used elsewhere.

Zanuck stayed on as chairman until 1971, but there were several expensive flops in his last years, resulting in 20th Century-Fox posting losses from 1969 to 1971. Following his removal, and after an uncertain period, new management brought 20th Century-Fox back to health. Under president Gordon T. Stulberg and production head Alan Ladd, Jr., 20th Century-Fox films connected with modern audiences. Stulberg used the profits to acquire resort properties, soft-drink bottlers, Australian theaters and other properties in an attempt to diversify enough to offset the boom-or-bust cycle of picture-making.

Foreshadowing a pattern of film production still yet to come, in late 1973 20th Century-Fox joined forces with Warner Bros. to co-produce The Towering Inferno (1974),[36] an all-star action blockbuster from producer Irwin Allen. Both studios found themselves owning the rights to books about burning skyscrapers. Allen insisted on a meeting with the heads of both studios and announced that as 20th Century-Fox was already in the lead with their property it would be career suicide to have competing movies. Thus the first joint-venture studio deal was struck. In hindsight, while it may be commonplace now, back in the 1970s, it was a risky, but revolutionary, idea that paid off handsomely at both domestic and international box offices around the world.

20th Century-Fox's success reached new heights by backing the most profitable film made up to that time, Star Wars (1977). Substantial financial gains were realized as a result of the film's unprecedented success: from a low of $6 in June 1976, stock prices more than quadrupled to almost $27 after Star Wars release; 1976 revenues of $195  million rose to $301  million in 1977.[37]

Marvin Davis and Rupert Murdoch

With financial stability came new owners, when 20th Century-Fox was sold for $720 million on June 8, 1981, to investors Marc Rich and Marvin Davis.[38] 20th Century-Fox's assets included Pebble Beach Golf Links, the Aspen Skiing Company and a Century City property upon which Davis built and twice sold Fox Plaza.

By 1984, Rich had become a fugitive from justice, having fled to Switzerland after being charged by U.S. federal prosecutors with tax evasion, racketeering and illegal trading with Iran during the Iran hostage crisis. Rich's assets were frozen by U.S. authorities.[39] In 1984 Marvin Davis bought out Marc Rich's 50% interest in 20th Century-Fox Film Corporation for an undisclosed amount,[39] reported to be $116 million.[40] Davis sold this interest to Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation for $250 million in March 1985. Davis later backed out of a deal with Murdoch to purchase John Kluge's Metromedia television stations.[40] Murdoch went ahead alone and bought the stations, and later bought out Davis' remaining stake in 20th Century Fox for $325 million.[40] From 1985, the hyphen was permanently deleted from the brand name, with 20th Century-Fox changing to 20th Century Fox.[41][42] In 1985, 20th Century-Fox shuttered the TLC Films division down after only three years, of which they had been started in 1982.[43]

To gain FCC approval of 20th Century-Fox's purchase of Metromedia's television holdings, once the stations of the long-dissolved DuMont network, Murdoch had to become a U.S. citizen. He did so in 1985, and in 1986 the new Fox Broadcasting Company took to the air. Over the next 20-odd years the network and owned-stations group expanded to become extremely profitable for News Corp.

In 1993, 20th Century Fox and producer Lauren Shuler Donner bought the film rights to the X-Men, as Bryan Singer had to direct the first film, and the second film. But as in March 2019, Marvel Studios obtained the film rights to X-Men after the Acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney.

In 1994, Fox would establish four new divisions: Fox Searchlight Pictures, Fox Family Films, Fox Animation Studios, and Fox 2000 Pictures. Fox Searchlight would specialize in the specialty and indie film market, with Thomas Rothman, then president of production at The Samuel Goldwyn Company, being brought on to head up the new studio. It was soon given its name with Rothman as its founding president.[44][45] Fox Family Films was tasked with producing films geared towards families, under John Matoian.[46] Fox Animation Studios was established on August 9, 1994,[47] designed to compete with Walt Disney Feature Animation, whom had found success in the Disney Renaissance. Don Bluth and Gary Goldman of the failing Sullivan Bluth Studios were appointed to head the new $100 million animation studio.[48] Fox 2000 Pictures was formed to specialize in mid-budget-ranging films targeted towards underserved groups of audiences,[49] with Laura Ziskin brought on as president.[50]

In August 1997, Fox's Los Angeles-based visual effects company, VIFX, acquired majority interest in Blue Sky Studios to form a new visual effects and animation company, temporarily renamed "Blue Sky/VIFX".[51] Blue Sky had previously did the character animation of MTV Films' first film Joe's Apartment. Following the studio's expansion, Blue Sky produced character animation for the films Alien Resurrection, A Simple Wish, Mouse Hunt, Star Trek: Insurrection and Fight Club.[52] VIFX was later sold to another VFX studio Rhythm and Hues Studios in March 1999.[53] According to Blue Sky founder Chris Wedge, Fox considered selling Blue Sky as well by 2000 due to financial difficulties in the visual effects industry in general.

In February 1998, following the success of Fox Animation Studios' first film Anastasia, Fox Family Films changed its name to Fox Animation Studios and dropped its live action production. which would be picked up by other production units.[54] The actual Fox Animation Studios would become a division of the formerly-named Fox Family Films, being referred to as the Phoenix studio. However, Fox Animation Studios in Los Angeles would be renamed to 20th Century Fox Animation between 1998 and 1999. The Phoenix studio would face financial problems, eventually with Fox laying off 300 of the nearly 380 people who worked at the Phoenix studio[55] in order to "make films more efficiently". After the box office-failure of Titan A.E., Fox Animation Studios would shut down on June 26, 2000.[56][57][58] Their last film set to be made would have been an adaptation of Wayne Barlowe's illustrated novel Barlowe's Inferno, and was set to be done entirely with computer animation.[59] Another film they would have made was The Little Beauty King, an adult animated film directed by Steve Oedekerk, which would have been a satire of the films from the Disney Renaissance. It would predate Shrek (2001).[60]

Chris Wedge, film producer Lori Forte, and Fox Animation executive Chris Meledandri presented Fox with a script for a comedy feature film titled Ice Age.[61] Studio management pressured staff to sell their remaining shares and options to Fox on the promise of continued employment on feature-length films. The studio moved to White Plains NY and started production on Ice Age. As the film wrapped, Fox, having little faith in the film, feared that it might bomb at the box office. Fox terminated half of the production staff and tried unsuccessfully to find a buyer for the film and the studio.[citation needed] Instead, Ice Age was released by Fox in conjunction with 20th Century Fox Animation on March 15, 2002 to critical and commercial success, receiving a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 75th Academy Awards in 2003.[62] Ice Age would spawn a franchise and bolster Blue Sky into producing feature films and becoming a household name in feature animation.

Since January 2000, this company has been the international distributor for MGM/UA releases. In the 1980s, 20th Century Fox – through a joint venture with CBS called CBS/Fox Video – had distributed certain UA films on video; thus UA has come full circle by switching to 20th Century Fox for video distribution. 20th Century Fox also makes money distributing films for small independent film companies.

In 2006, 20th Century Fox terminated it's production with Bad Hat Harry Productions, because Brett Ratner was hired to direct X-Men: The Last Stand, and Bryan Singer left the film to direct Superman Returns for Warner Bros. Pictures.

In late 2006, Fox Atomic was started up[63] under Fox Searchlight head Peter Rice and COO John Hegeman[64] as a sibling production division under Fox Filmed Entertainment.[63] In early 2008, Atomic's marketing unit was transferred to Fox Searchlight and 20th Century Fox, when Hegeman moved to New Regency Productions. Debbie Liebling became president. After two middling successes and falling short with other films, the unit was shut down in April 2009. The remaining films under Atomic in production and post-productions were transferred to 20th Century Fox and Fox Spotlight with Liebling overseeing them.[64]

In 2008, 20th Century Fox announced an Asian subsidiary, Fox STAR Studios, a joint venture with STAR TV, also owned by News Corporation. It was reported that Fox STAR would start by producing films for the Bollywood market, then expand to several Asian markets.[65] In 2008, 20th Century Fox started Fox International Productions .[66]

Chernin Entertainment was founded by Peter Chernin after he stepped down as president of 20th Century Fox's then-parent company News Corp. in 2009.[67] Chernin Entertainment's five-year first-look deal for the film and television was signed with 20th Century Fox and 20th Century Fox TV in 2009.[68]

In 2011, Bryan Singer returned to produce X-Men: First Class (2011), X-Men: Days Of Future Past (2014), and X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), as Matthew Vaughn who was previously attached to both X-Men: The Last Stand and Thor, became the director, and Simon Kinberg, who directed X-Men: The Last Stand and he read the comic book series: X-Men: First Class became also the producer, and 20th Century Fox made a 4-year-deal with Bad Hat Harry Productions from 2011 to 2016 until Bryan Singer was removed from Dark Phoenix (2019), due to allegations of sexual abuse against him.

In August 2012, 20th Century Fox signed a five-year deal with DreamWorks Animation to distribute in domestic and international markets. However, the deal did not include the distribution rights for previously released films which DreamWorks Animation acquired from Paramount Pictures later in 2014.[69] Fox's deal with DreamWorks Animation ended on June 2, 2017 with the release of Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie, and since the NBCUniversal's acquisition of DreamWorks Animation on August 22, 2016, all DWA movies from How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World onwards are marketed and distributed by Universal Pictures.

21st Century Fox era

In 2012, Rupert Murdoch announced that News Corp. would be split into two publishing and media-oriented companies: a new News Corporation, and 21st Century Fox, which operated the Fox Entertainment Group assets, such as 20th Century Fox, Fox 2000 Pictures, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Blue Sky Studios and others. Murdoch considered the name of the new company a way to maintain the 20th Century Fox's heritage.[70][71]

Fox Stage Productions was formed in June 2013.[72] The creation of 21st Century Fox was completed on June 28, 2013.[73] In August 2013, 20CF started a theatrical joint venture with a trio of producers, both film and theater, Kevin McCollum, John Davis and Tom McGrath.[74]

In September 2017, Locksmith Animation formed a multi-year production deal with 20th Century Fox, who would distribute Locksmith's films under 20th Century Fox Animation, with Locksmith aiming to release a film every 12–18 months. The deal was to bolster Blue Sky's output and replace the loss of distributing DreamWorks Animation films.[75] The first film to be released under the production company was Ron's Gone Wrong, which was released on October 22, 2021 by 20th Century Studios.

Technoprops, a VFX company that worked on Avatar and The Jungle Book, was purchased in April 2017 to operate as Fox VFX Lab. Technoprops' founder Glenn Derry would continue to run the company as vice president of visual effect reporting to John Kilkenny, VFX president.[76]

On October 30, 2017, Vanessa Morrison was named president of a newly created 20th Century Fox division, Fox Family, reporting to the Chairman & CEO and Vice Chairman of 20th Century Fox. The family division would develop films that appeal to younger moviegoers and their parents both animated films and films with live-action elements. Also, the division would oversee the studio's family animated television business, which produces based holiday television specials on existing film properties, and oversee feature film adaptation of its TV shows.[77] To replace Morrison at Fox Animation, Andrea Miloro and Robert Baird were named co-presidents of 20th Century Fox Animation.[78]

20th Century Fox issued a default notice in regards to its licensing agreement for the under-construction 20th Century Fox World theme park in Malaysia by Genting Malaysia Bhd. In November 2018 Genting Malaysia filed suit in response and included soon to be parent The Walt Disney Company.[79]

Disney era

Further information: Acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney

On December 14, 2017, The Walt Disney Company announced plans to purchase most of the 21st Century Fox assets, including 20th Century Fox, for $52.4 billion.[80] After a bid from Comcast (parent company of NBCUniversal) for $65 billion, Disney counterbid with $71.3 billion.[81] On July 19, 2018, Comcast dropped out of the bid for 21st Century Fox in favor of Sky plc and Sky UK. Eight days later, Disney and 21st Century Fox shareholders approved the merger between the two companies.[9] On March 12, 2019, Disney announced the acquisition of 21st Century Fox that was finalized on March 20, 2019.[82][83] 20th Century Fox was not planning to relocate to Walt Disney Studios in Burbank. It would continue to retain its headquarters at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles, which Fox Corporation leases it to The Walt Disney Company for seven years.[6] Various units were moved out from under 20th Century Fox at acquisition. Several units of Fox were shut down in the process, such as Fox 2000 Pictures and Fox VFX Lab. Additionally, the film rights to X-Men, Deadpool, and the Fantastic Four were transferred over to Marvel Studios as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

After the box office failures of films like Dark Phoenix and Stuber Disney halted development on several projects, though films such as Free Guy and the Avatar sequels managed to continue production. Fox's slate would be reduced to 10 films per year, half of them being made for the Hulu and then-upcoming Disney+ streaming services. Projects from 20th Century Fox franchises such as Home Alone, Cheaper by the Dozen, Night at the Museum, Diary of the Wimpy Kid, and Ice Age were later announced for Disney+.[84] These projects would later be fully revealed during Disney's Investor Day in December 2020 as feature films for the aforementioned streaming service.[85] The first of these projects was Home Sweet Home Alone, which was released on November 12, 2021, and it became the only film released by 20th Century Fox/Studios on Disney+, after Disney transferred all upcoming films for Disney+ to Walt Disney Pictures.

On January 17, 2020, the "Fox" name was removed from several of the Fox assets that were acquired by Disney and rebranded the film studio as 20th Century Studios (legally, 20th Century Studios, Inc.[86]) and its Searchlight division as Searchlight Pictures (legally Searchlight Pictures, Inc.[86]) in order to avoid confusion with the Fox Corporation. Nevertheless, Disney continues to own perpetual rights to the 20th Century Fox name for the studio's legacy film library.[87] Similar to other Disney film units, distribution of 20th Century films is now handled by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, while 20th Century's sister label, Searchlight Pictures, operates their own autonomous distribution and marketing unit.[8][88] The first film released by Disney under the studio's new name was The Call of the Wild.[10] That same year, Ford vs. Ferrari (2019), among its four Academy Award nominations, earned the studio its first Best Picture nomination post-Disney merger and last under the 20th Century Fox banner.

In January 2020, held-over production president Emma Watts resigned from the company.[89] On March 12, 2020, Steve Asbell was named president, production of 20th Century Studios, while Morrison was named president, streaming, Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production to oversee live-action development and production of Walt Disney Pictures and 20th Century Studios for Disney+. Philip Steuer will now lead physical and post-production and VFX, as president of production at Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production. Randi Hiller will now lead casting as executive VP casting, overseeing both Walt Disney Pictures and 20th Century Studios. Steuer has served as executive VP of physical production for Walt Disney Studios since 2015, and Hiller has led casting for Walt Disney Studios since 2011. Both will dual-report to Asbell and Sean Bailey.[1]

On February 9, 2021, Disney announced that Blue Sky Studios would shut down in April 2021, the main unit of 20th Century Animation.[90][91] A spokesperson for the company explained that in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic's continued economic impact on all of its businesses, it was no longer sustainable for them to run a third feature animation studio. In addition, production on a film adaptation of the webcomic Nimona,[92] originally scheduled to be released on January 14, 2022, was cancelled as a result of its closure. The studio's film library and intellectual properties are retained by Disney. Although Disney did not give an exact date as to when the studio would be closing down initially, former animator Rick Fournier confirmed on April 10 it was their last day of operation,[93] three days after co-founder Chris Wedge released a farewell letter on social media.[94] Nimona would be picked up by Annapurna Pictures in early 2022 for release on Netflix in 2023.[95]

On November 22, 2021, Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution and WarnerMedia reached an agreement to allow select 20th Century Studios films be shared between Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max through late 2022. The new agreement is an amendment to the original agreement between 20th Century Fox and HBO that Disney inherited after its acquisition of Fox in 2019, and as such, is not expected to be renewed. Following the end of the 20th Century-HBO deal, Disney plans to retain the 20th Century films on their own streaming platforms going forward after 2022.[96] The first film to this new strategy was Ron's Gone Wrong.

On February 8, 2022, Steven Spielberg's 2021 film version of West Side Story, among its seven Academy Award nominations, earned 20th Century Studios its first Best Picture nomination post-rebranding.[97]

On March 3, 2022, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, 20th Century Studios president Steve Asbell stated that they plan to be making 10+ films a year for Disney's streaming services, mainly Hulu, starting in 2023, and that two-to-three movies would be released theatrically each year.[98]

Main article: 20th Television

20th Television is the television production division of 20th Century Studios. 20th Century Fox Television was the studio's television production division, along with Fox 21 Television Studios until they were renamed 20th Television and Touchstone Television respectively in 2020. 20th Television was also the studio's television syndication division until it was folded into Disney-ABC Domestic Television in 2020.[99]

During the mid-1950s, feature films were released to television in the hope that they would broaden sponsorship and help the distribution of network programs. Blocks of one-hour programming of feature films to national sponsors on 128 stations were organized by Twentieth Century Fox and National Telefilm Associates. Twentieth Century Fox received 50% interest in the NTA Film network after it sold its library to National Telefilm Associates. This gave 90 minutes of cleared time a week and syndicated feature films to 110 non-interconnected stations for sale to national sponsors.[100]

Buyout of Four Star

Rupert Murdoch's 20th Century Fox bought out the remaining assets of Four Star Television from Ronald Perelman's Compact Video in 1996.[101] The majority of Four Star Television's library of programs are controlled by 20th Television today.[102][103][104] After Murdoch's numerous buyouts during the buyout era of the eighties, News Corporation had built up financial debts of $7 billion (much from Sky TV in the UK), despite the many assets that were held by NewsCorp.[105] The high levels of debt caused Murdoch to sell many of the American magazine interests he had acquired in the mid-1980s.

Main articles: 20th Century Fox Records and Fox Music

Between 1933 and 1937, a custom record label called Fox Movietone was produced starting at F-100 and running through F-136. It featured songs from 20th Century Fox movies, first using material recorded and issued on Victor's Bluebird label and halfway through switched to material recorded and issued on ARC's dime store labels (Melotone, Perfect, etc.). These scarce records were sold only at Fox Theaters.

The music arm of 20th Century Fox, 20th Century Fox Records, was founded in 1958. It would lay dormant in 1981.

Fox Records was the 20th Century Fox's music arm since 1992 before being renamed to Fox Music in 2000. It encompasses music publishing and licensing businesses, dealing primarily with Fox Entertainment Group's television and film soundtracks under license by Universal Music Group, EMI, Sony Music, and Warner Music Group. It would also lay dormant on January 17, 2020.

The Twentieth Century Fox Presents radio series[106] were broadcast between 1936 and 1942. More often than not, the shows were a radio preview featuring a medley of the songs and soundtracks from the latest movie being released into the theaters, much like the modern-day movie trailers we now see on TV, to encourage folks to head down to their nearest Picture House.

The radio shows featured the original stars, with the announcer narrating a lead-up that encapsulated the performance.

From its earliest ventures into movie production, Fox Film Corporation operated its own processing laboratories. The original lab was located in Fort Lee, New Jersey along with the studios. A lab was included with the new studio built in Los Angeles in 1916.[107] Headed by Alan E. Freedman, the Fort Lee lab was moved into the new Fox Studios building in Manhattan in 1919.[108] In 1932, Freedman bought the labs from Fox for $2,000,000 to bolster what at that time was a failing Fox liquidity.[109][110] He renamed the operation "DeLuxe Laboratories," which much later became Deluxe Entertainment Services Group. In the 1940s Freedman sold the labs back to what was then 20th Century Fox and remained as president into the 1960s. Under Freedman's leadership, DeLuxe added two more labs in Chicago and Toronto and processed film from studios other than Fox, such as UA and Universal.

Main article: 20th Century Family

20th Century Family is an American family-friendly production division of 20th Century Studios. Besides family-friendly theatrical films, the division oversees mixed media (live-action with animation), family animated holiday television specials based on film properties, and film features based on TV shows.

On October 30, 2017, Morrison was transferred from her post as president of 20th Century Animation, the prior Fox Family Films, to be president of a newly created 20th Century Fox division, Fox Family, which as a mandate similar to Fox Family Films. The division pick up supervision of a Bob's Burgers film[77] and some existing deals with animation producers, including Tonko House.[111] With the sale of 21st Century Fox to Disney in March 2019, rights to The Dam Keeper feature animated film returned to Tonko House.[112]

With the August 2019 20th Century Fox slate overhaul announcement, 20th Century Fox properties such as Home Alone, Night at the Museum, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Cheaper by the Dozen, and the Ice Age spin-off have been assigned for Disney+ release and assigned to 20th Century Family.[84] On March 12, 2020, Morrison was named president, Streaming, Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production to oversee live action development and production of Disney Live Action and 20th Century Studios for Disney+.[1]

• The Bob's Burgers Movie, produced with Bento Box Entertainment (May 27, 2022)[77][113]
• The Prom Goer's Interstellar Excursion based film, produced with Chernin Entertainment[114]
• Paper Lanterns live-action/animated family film written by Jonny Sun and produced with Chernin Entertainment[115]
• The Garden live-action/CGI musical film based on book of Genesis's the Garden of Eden with Franklin Entertainment[116]

Searchlight Pictures

Main article: Searchlight Pictures

Searchlight Pictures is a division of 20th Century Studios that specializes in arthouse and independent films. Successful releases include Slumdog Millionaire, 12 Years a Slave, Isle of Dogs, Nomadland, and The Shape of Water.

20th Century Animation

Main article: 20th Century Animation

20th Century Animation is an animation studio organized as a division of 20th Century Studios, a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios. Originally formed in 1994 as its subsidiary, it's tasked with producing feature-length films. At one point divisions were Fox Animation Studios until 2000 and Blue Sky Studios until 2021. Its successful films and franchises include Anastasia, The Simpsons Movie, and both the Ice Age and Rio film series.

20th Digital Studio

Main article: 20th Digital Studio

20th Digital Studio (formerly Zero Day Fox) is an American web series and web films production and distribution company founded in 2008 as a digital media, and is a subsidiary of 20th Century Studios.

Fox Studios Australia

Main article: Fox Studios Australia

Fox Studios Australia is a film and television studio in Sydney currently part of The Walt Disney Company since 2019, occupying the site of the former Sydney Showground at Moore Park. The studio opened in May 1998 by 20th Century Fox, and is now owned by The Walt Disney Studios.

Regency Enterprises (20%)

Main article: Regency Enterprises

Regency Enterprises is an American entertainment company formed by Arnon Milchan. It was founded in 1982 as the successor to Regency International Pictures.

Former

Fox 2000 Pictures

Main article: Fox 2000 Pictures

Fox 2000 Pictures was an American sister studio of the larger film studios 20th Century Studios and Searchlight Pictures (formerly 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight Pictures respectively) specializing in producing independent films in mid-range releases that largely targeted mid-ranged groups.[49] The company dissolved in May 2021 following the release of The Woman in the Window on Netflix, and the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by The Walt Disney Company in March 2019.[117][118] Its successful films include Marley & Me, Life of Pi, The Fault in Our Stars, Love, Simon,Fight Club, and both Alvin and the Chipmunks and Diary of a Wimpy Kid film series.

Fox Studios

Logo for Fox Studios.

Area served

Number of employees

Fox Studios was a group of three major movie studios, each part of the Fox Entertainment Group. The three film studios are Fox Studios Australia in Sydney, Australia, Fox Studios Baja in Lower California and the oldest studio, Fox Studios Los Angeles, home of 20th Century Fox.

Fox VFX Lab

Logo for Fox VFX Lab.

Area served

Number of employees

Fox VFX Lab was a visual effects company division of 20th Century Studios that was acquired in 2017 known as Technoprops. It was led by president John Kilkenny. Besides their visual effects activities, the division oversaw different parts of the world to apply for and work on projects that include films such as Avatar, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Alita: Battle Angel, The Jungle Book, Rogue One, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, Doctor Strange, and Warcraft[119] and also video game properties like Need for Speed (2015), Battlefield 1, Rainbow Six Siege, Watch Dogs 2, Just Cause 3, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Assassin's Creed Syndicate, Mafia III, Halo 4, Street Fighter V, Call of Duty (Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Black Ops III), Far Cry (Far Cry 5 and Primal), Mortal Kombat (X and 11), and Sonic the Hedgehog (Forces and Team Sonic Racing).[120][121] In 2020, Disney merged Fox VFX Lab into Lucasfilm's Industrial Light & Magic, using the Technoprops brand for the labs technology division, the majority of employees and executives were reportedly fired.[122][123][124][125]

Fox Atomic

Main article: Fox Atomic

Fox Atomic was a youth-focused film production company and division of Fox Filmed Entertainment that operated from 2006 to April 2009. Atomic was originally paired with either 20th Century Fox or its Fox Searchlight division under their same, respective leadership.

In late 2006, Fox Atomic was started up[63] under Fox Searchlight head Peter Rice and COO John Hegeman[64] as a sibling production division under Fox Filmed Entertainment.[63] Debbie Liebling transferred to Fox Atomic in 2007 from Fox.[64] In January 2008, Atomic's marketing unit was transferred to Fox Searchlight and 20th Century Fox,[126] when Hegeman moved to Regency Enterprises. Debbie Liebling became president. After two middling successes and falling short with other films, the unit was shut down in April 2009. The remaining films under Atomic in production and post-productions were transferred to 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight with Liebling overseeing them.[64]

• Turistas (December 1, 2006)[63]
• The Hills Have Eyes 2 (March 23, 2007)[63]
• 28 Weeks Later (May 11, 2007)[63]
• Death Sentence (August 31, 2007)[126]
• The Comebacks (October 12, 2007)[126]
• Shutter (March 21, 2008)[126]
• Deception (April 25, 2008)[126]
• The Rocker (August 22, 2008)[64]
• Miss March (March 6, 2009)[64]
• 12 Rounds (March 27, 2009)[64]

Films in production at shutting down and transferred to other Fox units

• I Love You, Beth Cooper (July 10, 2009)[126] 20th Century Fox release, 1492 Pictures production company, directed by Chris Columbus and starring Hayden Panettiere[64]
• Post Grad (August 21, 2009) Fox Searchlight release, directed by Vicky Jenson and starring Alexis Bledel[64]
• Jennifer's Body (September 18, 2009)[126] 20th Century Fox release, directed by Karyn Kusama and starring Megan Fox[64]

Fox Faith

Main article: Fox Faith

Fox Faith was an evangelical Christian-based film production company and division of Fox Filmed Entertainment that operated from 2006 to 2010. In addition to being paired with 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight, it was also paired with Fox's home video division, though has had theatrical limited release agreements with AMC Theatres and Carmike Theatres chains.[127] Fox Faith was considered from the studio as "morally-driven, family-friendly programming," and requires them to "have overt Christian [c]ontent or be derived from the work of a Christian author."[128] Faith was located in the Republic of Palau within the Pacific Ocean until 2010 when the company ceased operations and was formed as 20th Century Fox Palau. Its final film, Mama, I Want to Sing!, was filmed in 2009, but was shelved until 2012 due to the studio's closure.

• Love's Abiding Joy (September 1, 2006)
• One Night with the King (October 13, 2006)
• Thr3e (January 5, 2007)
• The Last Sin Eater (February 9, 2007)
• The Ultimate Gift (March 9, 2007)
• The Final Inquiry / L'Inchiesta (May 25, 2007)
• Saving Sarah Cain (August 19, 2007)
• Moondance Alexander (October 19, 2007)
• Ace of Hearts (May 6, 2008)
• A Good Man Is Hard to Find (August 14, 2009)
• Mama, I Want to Sing! (February 12, 2012)

20th Century Fox Consumer Products

20th Century Fox Consumer Products (also known as Fox Consumer Products) was an American merchandising company founded in 1995. it was 20th Century Fox's merchandise division. In 2019, 20th Century Fox Consumer Products was folded into Disney Consumer Products. TCFCP was the management of the rights derived from films and television series produced by the group. it used to license and market properties worldwide on behalf of 20th Century Fox, 20th Century Fox Television and FX Networks, as well as third party lines. The division was aligned with 20th Century Fox Television, the flagship studio leading the industry in supplying award-winning and blockbuster primetime television programming and entertainment content and 20th Century Fox, one of the world's largest producers and distributors of motion pictures throughout the world. 20th Century Fox Consumer Products engaged in merchandising of the Fox brand and Fox properties.

Fox Stage Productions

Fox Stage Productions was the Broadway-style music show branch founded in June 2013 by the 21st Century Fox conglomerate. after the acquisition in 2019, Fox Stage Productions was shut down to make way for Buena Vista Theatrical on July 3, 2019.

Fox International Productions

Main article: Fox International Productions

Fox International Productions was the division of 20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios) in charge of local production in 12 territories in China, Europe, India and Latin America from 2008 to 2017.

In 2008, 20th Century Fox started Fox International Productions under president Sanford Panitch. The company had $900 million in box-office receipts by the time Panitch left the company for Sony Pictures on June 2, 2015.[66] Co-president of worldwide theatrical marketing and distribution for 20th Century Fox Tomas Jegeus was named president of Fox International Productions effective September 1, 2015.[129] The company struck a development and production deal in November 2015 with Zhejiang Huace, a Chinese entertainment group.[130] In December 2017, 20th Century Fox film chairman-CEO Stacey Snider indicated that Fox International Productions would be dissolved in favor of each local and regional offices producing or acquiring projects.[131]

20th Century Fox International

20th Century Fox International was the international division of 20th Century Fox, responsible for the distribution of films outside the United States and indirectly for the distribution of home videos and DVDs.

Fox-Paramount Home Entertainment

Fox-Paramount Home Entertainment was a Nordic joint venture between 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment, founded in 2013 to manage manufacturing, distribution, marketing, and sales of each studio's Blu-ray and DVD releases, as well as sales support for digital products in the Nordic region. In 2020, following the renaming for and folding of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (now 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment), Fox-Paramount Home Entertainment was defunct and separated. Now home media releases for 20th Century Studios' films in Nordic are directly managed by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, while SF Studios only releasing its own films from Paramount Pictures since July 2021.

20th Century Fox is perhaps best known for its production logo. The familiar 20th Century Fox logo originated as the logo of Twentieth Century Pictures and was adopted by 20th Century-Fox after the merger in 1935. It consists of a stacked block-letter three-dimensional, monolithic logotype (nicknamed "the Monument") surrounded by Art deco buildings and illuminated by searchlights.[132] In the production logo that appears at the start of films, the searchlights are animated and the sequence is accompanied by a distinctive fanfare that was originally composed in 1933 by Alfred Newman.[133] The original layout of the logo was designed by special effects animator and matte painting artist Emil Kosa Jr..[134][135]

The 20th Century Fox logo and fanfare have been recognized as an iconic symbol of the Golden Age of Hollywood.

In 1953, Rocky Longo, an artist at Pacific Title, was hired to recreate the original logo design for the new CinemaScope picture process. Longo tilted the "0" in "20th" to have the logo maintain proportions in the wider CinemaScope format.[136] Alfred Newman also re-composed the logo's fanfare with an extension to be heard during the CinemaScope logo that would follow after the Fox logo. Although the format had since declined, director George Lucas specifically requested that the CinemaScope version of the fanfare be used for the opening titles of Star Wars (1977). Additionally, the film's main theme was composed by John Williams in the same key as the fanfare (B♭ major), serving as an extension to it of sorts.[137][138] In 1981, the logo was slightly altered with the re-straightening of the "0" in "20th".[136]

In 1994, after a few failed attempts, Fox in-house television producer Kevin Burns was hired to produce a new logo for the company, this time using the then-new process of computer-generated imagery (CGI) adding more detail and animation, with the longer 21-second Fox fanfare arranged by Bruce Broughton used as the underscore. It would later be re-recorded by David Newman in 1997 and again in 1998.[136][138] The logo was animated by Burns alongside Flip Your Lid Animation.

In 2009, an updated logo created by Blue Sky Studios debuted with the release of Avatar.[136]

On September 16, 2014, 20th Century Fox posted a video showcasing all of the various versions of the logo, plus the "William Fox Presents" version of the Fox Film logo and the 20th Century Pictures logo, including some variations, up until the 2009 version of the logo, with the 1998 version of the fanfare composed by David Newman, to promote the new Fox Movies website.

On January 17, 2020, it was reported that Disney had begun to phase out the "Fox" name from the studio's branding as it is no longer tied to the current Fox Corporation, with 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight Pictures respectively renamed to 20th Century Studios and Searchlight Pictures. Branding elements associated with the studio, including the searchlights, monolith, and fanfare, will remain in use. The first film that carries the new 20th Century Studios name is The Call of the Wild (coincidentally the original film adaptation was the original Twentieth Century Pictures' final movie before its merger with Fox Film).[139][10][140]

For the 20th Century Studios logo, its print logo debuted on a movie poster of The New Mutants[141][142] while the on-screen logo debuted in a television advertisement for and the full version debuted on February 21, 2020, with the film The Call of the Wild.[143]

The 20th Century Studios logo was animated by Picturemill, based on Blue Sky Studios' animation.[144]

In the television series Futurama, a "30th Century Fox" logo appears after some episodes about its setting; in particular, the company is credited as "30th Century Fox Television" after every episode, and even on the side of the show's DVDs. A fictional "30th" statue was also seen in the episode "That's Lobstertainment!" as a literal statue and searchlights in Hollywood in the 31st century; a joke is also made that several movies were made each year of the pilots who were blinded by said searchlights and ended up crashing after flying by the statue, one example of which was seen while the characters were touring.

In Family Guy, Season 20: Episode 17, All About Alana, the 20th Century Fox fanfare is played by a Melodica.

Main article: Lists of 20th Century Studios films

I ‡—Includes theatrical reissue(s).

• 20th Century Animation
• Searchlight Pictures
• 20th Television
• 20th Television Animation

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• Livingston, Tamara Elena; Caracas Garcia, Thomas George (2005). Choro: A Social History of a Brazilian Popular Music. Indiana University Press. p. 101. ISBN 978-0-253-21752-3.[better source needed]
• Lev, Peter (2013). Twentieth Century-Fox: The Zanuck-Skouras Years, 1935–1965. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press. p. 162. ISBN 978-0-292-74447-9.
• Solomon, Aubrey (2002). Twentieth Century-Fox: A Corporate and Financial History. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 19–20. ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1.
• Wolff, Michael (2010). The Man Who Owns the News: Inside the Secret World of Rupert Murdoch. New York City: Random House. p. 167. ISBN 978-1-4090-8679-6.
• (Reprint edition) Lev, Peter (2014). Twentieth Century-Fox: The Zanuck-Skouras Years, 1935–1965. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-292-76210-7.
• (Kindle edition) Harris, Warren G. (2011). Natalie and R.J.: The Star-Crossed Love Affair of Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner (Basis for the film The Mystery of Natalie Wood). Los Angeles: Graymalkin Media. p. 1900. ISBN 9781935169864.
• Ferruccio, Frank (2010). Did Success Spoil Jayne Mansfield?: Her Life in Pictures & Text. Denver: Outskirts Press. p. 117. ISBN 978-1-4327-6123-3.
• (First edition) Strait, Raymond (1992). Here They Are Jayne Mansfield. New York City: S.P.I. Books. p. 86. ISBN 978-1-56171-146-8.
• (Kindle edition) Watson, John V. (2015). 'The Modern Miracle You See Without Glasses' - CinemaScope: 1953–1954: 'Twentieth Century-Fox presents A CinemaScope Production': 1953–1954 (Films made in CinemaScope from 1953 to 1956). Seattle: Amazon Digital Services LLC. p. 290. ASIN B0170SN1L4.[better source needed]
• Troyan, Michael; Thompson, Jeffrey Paul; Sylvester, Stephen X. (August 15, 2017). Twentieth Century Fox: A Century of Entertainment. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781630761431.
• Tzioumakis, Yannis (2013). Hollywood's Indies. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-6453-5. Retrieved April 22, 2020.

• Barkan, Elliot (2001). Making it in America: a Sourcebook on Eminent Ethnic Americans. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. p. 349. ISBN 978-1-57607-098-7.
• (First Edition) Custen, George F. (1997). Twentieth Century's Fox: Darryl F. Zanuck and the Culture of Hollywood. New York City: Basic Books. ISBN 978-0-465-07619-2.
• Chrissochoidis, Ilias (2013). Spyros P. Skouras, Memoirs (1893–1953). United States: Brave World. ISBN 978-0-615-76949-3.
• Chrissochoidis, Ilias (2013). CinemaScope: Selected Documents from the Spyros P. Skouras Archive. United States: Brave World. ISBN 978-0-615-89880-3.
• Chrissochoidis, Ilias (2013). The Cleopatra Files: Selected Documents from the Spyros P. Skouras Archive. United States: Brave World. ISBN 978-0-615-82919-7.

• Finding aid to the Earl I. Sponable papers, 1928-1968, at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

• Official website
• 20th Century Studios from Box Office Mojo
• Finding aid authors: Morgan Crockett (2014). "Twentieth Century Studios pressbooks". Prepared for the L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Provo, UT.

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