Disney/FOX Acquisition Thread

[Legacy]

I think you missed the point, it won’t be on Fox anymore.

Yep. Didn't catch that. :thumbsup:

 

[quinnmac000]

Fox Animation Co-President Andrea Miloro Stepping Down (Exclusive) | Hollywood Reporter

It looks like Dis is looking possibly divest Blue Sky.

 

[Nick]

Fox Animation Co-President Andrea Miloro Stepping Down (Exclusive) | Hollywood Reporter

It looks like Dis is looking possibly divest Blue Sky.

No reason to keep Blue Sky beyond the talent, imo. Take whatever's useful and shut down everything else is what i'd do.

 

[Clive]

No reason to keep Blue Sky beyond the talent, imo. Take whatever's useful and shut down everything else is what i'd do.

Not toot my own horn, but this is exactly what I predicted would happen months ago - writing has been in the wall, and this isn't a surprise around town. They'll finish Spies in Disguise (which is being sent to die, Princess & the Frog-style), and then...

 

[FBarnhill]

Poor Ice Age. They were Fox’s Shrek.

 

[quinnmac000]

Disney Flushes Fox Film Development, ‘Redirects’ Strategy After Big Q3 Loss – Variety

Well there goes the adult content.

 

[MrBlonde]

Disney Flushes Fox Film Development, ‘Redirects’ Strategy After Big Q3 Loss – Variety

Well there goes the adult content.

From what I read they only laid off about 250 people after the acquisition so far. I think this now gives them an out to cut more jobs due to performance.

Sure they can say the film slate was bad but these things take years to come down the pike. Were they really expecting Dark Phoenix to bring in the business?

 

[HereWeGo]

Well there goes the adult content.

I think you're jumping to conclusions there. Especially since Disney also confirmed that they will be continuing with the Planet of the Apes films (not a reboot but a continuation of the same world and characters).

Planet of the Apes: When will Disney release a new film?

 

[Nick]

I think you're jumping to conclusions there. Especially since Disney also confirmed that they will be continuing with the Planet of the Apes films (not a reboot but a continuation of the same world and characters).

Planet of the Apes: When will Disney release a new film?

The current PotA story has always been PG-13 though, so it's not like you're talking about an R-rated franchise. Also, Deadpool director has said Deadpool 3 may end up being PG-13. I think Disney wants to pair down the release schedule at FOX to just heavy hitters and franchises that will make a lot of money. I think R-rated stuff is probably not going away completely at FOX, but i'd say the majority of it will probably come out of Fox Searchlight.

 

[Nick]

I also want to mention that I am highly suspect that FOX will actually still be a brand a year or so from now. I think we're going to end up seeing FOX as a distributor go away, awards films (like Ford v. Ferrari) end up with Fox Searchlight going forward and then movies like Avatar, Planet of the Apes, West Side Story, etc, released under Disney's Buena Vista distribution.

 

[RFRees]

The current PotA story has always been PG-13 though, so it's not like you're talking about an R-rated franchise. Also, Deadpool director has said Deadpool 3 may end up being PG-13. I think Disney wants to pair down the release schedule at FOX to just heavy hitters and franchises that will make a lot of money. I think R-rated stuff is probably not going away completely at FOX, but i'd say the majority of it will probably come out of Fox Searchlight.

Unless I'm mistaken, the director didn't say "Deadpool 3", he said:

"It's rated R so that's not necessarily the [MCU] brand but he doesn't necessarily need to be R and [Disney] don't necessarily need to only make PG-13 movies," he explained. "I think we'll find a happy ground."

This means that the character could work within a Pg-13 film. This could mean Deadpool 3, or it could mean Deadpool appears in another film, or it could mean Deadpool vs Wolverine, or any other number of things could happen.

 

[MrBlonde]

I also want to mention that I am highly suspect that FOX will actually still be a brand a year or so from now. I think we're going to end up seeing FOX as a distributor go away, awards films (like Ford v. Ferrari) end up with Fox Searchlight going forward and then movies like Avatar, Planet of the Apes, West Side Story, etc, released under Disney's Buena Vista distribution.

I think Disney bought the company just to own the assets and IP. Fox wasn’t competing strongly enough in the blockbuster dominated theatrical market but has great and edgier content for TV which fits the hole in Disney’s IP portfolio.

I think longer term Fox will stay strong on TV but theatrically it’ll be a couple of its organic IPs like Avatar and Kingsman along with Oscar bait and other adult stuff but purely in name only.

Aka Touchstone 2.0 (but with more history and an even bigger price tag).

 

[Paulio]

I think Disney bought the company just to own the assets and IP. Fox wasn’t competing strongly enough in the blockbuster dominated theatrical market but has great and edgier content for TV which fits the hole in Disney’s IP portfolio.

I think longer term Fox will stay strong on TV but theatrically it’ll be a couple of its organic IPs like Avatar and Kingsman along with Oscar bait and other adult stuff but purely in name only.

Aka Touchstone 2.0 (but with more history and an even bigger price tag).

It is Disney after all, extremely protective of their IPs. As they grew larger with each acquistion throughout the late 2000s and 2010s, they have to cut some corners to fit in with their already, but successful same old cookie cutter formula that most smart people nowadays hate, but not so bright crowd loves. It still means there might be R-rated contents, but only through several indie ones rather than blockbuster ones like Deadpool and Logan. Which is why Disney's acquistion of Fox is a bad idea from the get go.

 

[Nick]

It is Disney after all, extremely protective of their IPs. As they grew larger with each acquistion throughout the late 2000s and 2010s, they have to cut some corners to fit in with their already, but successful same old cookie cutter formula that most smart people nowadays hate, but not so bright crowd loves. It still means there might be R-rated contents, but only through several indie ones rather than blockbuster ones like Deadpool and Logan. Which is why Disney's acquistion of Fox is a bad idea from the get go.

I get what you're saying in terms of how the MCU and LucasFilm have always been PG-13 brands at best (LucasFilm really is more PG, tbh. Star Wars just gets the PG-13 rating bc of the pew-pew "violence"). Audiences know what they're getting when the go to one of those movies, a Pixar, WDAS, or Disney proper movie. But FOX has an identity too. Their known for PG-13/R-rated fare and just because the X-Men are going into the MCU, I don't see why Deadpool couldn't stand alone outside of that and be R under the Fox brand? Audiences EXPECT Deadpool to be a pretty hard R, not MCU's PG-13 formula.

At the very least, if they're gonna take Deadpool and put him in the MCU, they could let Ryan Reynolds finish out his trilogy. You can't argue with box office and the worldwide totals at $783M WW and $785M WW for 1 & 2 and you're gonna be pissing off a lot of those moviegoers who liked him as an R-rated character. I understand Disney's thinking is that "well if Deadpool made that much with an R rating, imagine how much the character would make with a PG-13!". And they may be right, but it would be at the expense of what made Deadpool 1 & 2 so enjoyable.

 

[Paulio]

I get what you're saying in terms of how the MCU and LucasFilm have always been PG-13 brands at best (LucasFilm really is more PG, tbh. Star Wars just gets the PG-13 rating bc of the pew-pew "violence"). Audiences know what they're getting when the go to one of those movies, a Pixar, WDAS, or Disney proper movie. But FOX has an identity too. Their known for PG-13/R-rated fare and just because the X-Men are going into the MCU, I don't see why Deadpool couldn't stand alone outside of that and be R under the Fox brand? Audiences EXPECT Deadpool to be a pretty hard R, not MCU's PG-13 formula.

At the very least, if they're gonna take Deadpool and put him in the MCU, they could let Ryan Reynolds finish out his trilogy. You can't argue with box office and the worldwide totals at $783M WW and $785M WW for 1 & 2 and you're gonna be pissing off a lot of those moviegoers who liked him as an R-rated character. I understand Disney's thinking is that "well if Deadpool made that much with an R rating, imagine how much the character would make with a PG-13!". And they may be right, but it would be at the expense of what made Deadpool 1 & 2 so enjoyable.

The thing is that Fox is not a distributor anymore. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures does and isn't really known for distributing R-rated movies in its entire existence (which is why Disney has Touchstone Pictures as well as past divisions like Miramax and Dimension Films doing the work). Unfortunately, Miramax and Dimension Films were sold off, and Touchstone Pictures hasn't been properly utlized for R-rated contents for almost a decade. We'll see what Disney can do with the Deadpool sequels, but I won't get my hopes up.

 

[Nick]

The thing is that Fox is not a distributor anymore. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures does and isn't really known for distributing R-rated movies in its entire existence (which is why Disney has Touchstone Pictures as well as past divisions like Miramax and Dimension Films doing the work). Unfortunately, Miramax and Dimension Films were sold off, and Touchstone Pictures hasn't been properly utlized for R-rated contents for almost a decade. We'll see what Disney can do with the Deadpool sequels, but I won't get my hopes up.

What I mean is that FOX still has its own arm that, when, say Dark Phoenix was released vs. Endgame, Dark Phoenix was released under FOX as the listed studio. Endgame was released under “Buena Vista”.

That’s a distinction that Disney could really take advantage of. Of course it looks like they don’t plan on doing so.

 

[Paulio]

What I mean is that FOX still has its own arm that, when, say Dark Phoenix was released vs. Endgame, Dark Phoenix was released under FOX as the listed studio. Endgame was released under “Buena Vista”.

That’s a distinction that Disney could really take advantage of. Of course it looks like they don’t plan on doing so.

Dark Phoenix was made at the time when Fox was still part of the Big Six (no longer, as they're purely a production company after being fully assimilated into the Disney umbrella in March 2019). So anything Fox finished before being fully acquired always have got a FOX label on their movies. Since Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures now takes over any distribution for the ongoing development of Fox movies after the acquisition in March 2019, I find it highly unlikely they might continue with the R-rated blockbuster content trend.

 

[Nick]

Dark Phoenix was made at the time when Fox was still part of the Big Six (no longer, as they're purely a production company after being fully assimilated into the Disney umbrella in March 2019). So anything Fox finished before being fully acquired always have got a FOX label on their movies. Since Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures now takes over any distribution for the ongoing development of Fox movies after the acquisition in March 2019, I find it highly unlikely they might continue with the R-rated blockbuster content trend.

Fox is a completely separate reporting studio than Buena Vista and as of now, they will continue to be. Many films are still in production that Disney could’ve ended. Or hadn’t even started production that could’ve been canceled. Disney still allowed these Fox films to go forward. You seem very confused on how all of this works.

Fox SHOULD be the new Touchstone for Disney.

 

[Paulio]

Fox is a completely separate reporting studio than Buena Vista and as of now, they will continue to be. Many films are still in production that Disney could’ve ended. Or hadn’t even started production that could’ve been canceled. Disney still allowed these Fox films to go forward. You seem very confused on how all of this works.

Fox SHOULD be the new Touchstone for Disney.

We'll see what happens, but with the way Disney is going right now, I won't be holding my breath on that anytime soon, as Disney is already putting emphaisas on blockbuster and cookie-cutter movies.

 

[Nick]

We'll see what happens, but with the way Disney is going right now, I won't be holding my breath on that anytime soon, as Disney is already putting emphaisas on blockbuster and cookie-cutter movies.

I've already said I think Fox may not be around as it's own separate releasing entity from Buena Vista for much longer. All you have to do is look at their upcoming release schedule. 2020 is packed, but 2021 only has 2 films - Nimona (a BlueSky film that may not even be finished) and Avatar 2, which I could easily see transferring to Buena Vista.

I think you and I are talking similarly about things in very different ways. 2020 is a pretty strong slate for FOX though with The King's Man, Free Guy, Bob's Burgers, West Side Story, Death On The Nile, The New Mutants (if it is actually released), etc. I feel like Fox's 2019 slate was a very poor hand for Disney aside from Awards bait later in the year and I really hope that FOX does a lot better next year and is profitable as I would hate Disney to gut it and just take the working parts.

And separate, but deserves mentioning, Fox Searchlight IS staying as is and is currently actually seeing films greenlit, so i'm less worried about that studio, especially since it puts out low budget movies that can give a high ROI as well as a studio that is known for it's Awards contenders/winners.