By
Pike on
Saturday January 18, 2020 04:18 am
It's official.
Following the merger with Fox last year, Disney announced that it is retiring the Fox brand.
This means that 20th Century Fox film studio will become 20th Century Studios. Meanwhile, Fox Searchlight Pictures will simply become Searchlight Pictures.
"Disney's decision to drop the Fox brand stems from its acquisition of 21st Century Fox in 2019, a monumental deal valued at $71.3 billion. With this purchase, Disney gained control over a vast array of film and television properties, including the X-Men, Deadpool, and Avatar franchises, as well as the FX and National Geographic networks. However, the "Fox" name itself remained with the Fox Corporation, which continued to operate Fox News, Fox Sports, and the Fox Broadcasting Company.
By 2020, Disney began to phase out the Fox brand from the assets it acquired, starting by renaming its film division "20th Century Studios" and its indie subsidiary "Searchlight Pictures" (formerly Fox Searchlight). The primary reason was to avoid brand confusion between the assets Disney owned and those still controlled by Fox Corporation. Additionally, Disney sought to distance itself from Fox’s legacy, particularly its association with Fox News, which had a polarizing reputation. Dropping the Fox name allowed Disney to rebrand these assets in line with its family-friendly image while focusing on its broader entertainment empire.
The move also reinforced Disney’s intent to position these properties within its growing digital ecosystem, including its streaming service Disney+, solidifying a new identity for its newly acquired content."
