20th Century Studios

Overview

20th Century Studios is one of Hollywood's founding major studios, operating under Walt Disney Studios following Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox in 2019. Formerly known as 20th Century Fox, the studio was founded in 1935 through a merger of Fox Film Corporation and Twentieth Century Pictures. The studio has produced some of the most commercially successful and culturally significant films in cinema history, from the original Star Wars (1977) and Alien (1979) through Titanic (1997), Avatar (2009), and the Planet of the Apes franchise.

The studio operates from the Fox Studio Lot in Century City, Los Angeles, which continues to serve as an active production facility and rental lot. Under Disney ownership, 20th Century Studios continues to operate as a distinct label with its own development slate and production identity.

History

20th Century Fox was created in 1935 when Joseph Schenck and Darryl F. Zanuck's Twentieth Century Pictures merged with William Fox's Fox Film Corporation. Zanuck ran the studio as head of production for decades, presiding over its golden age output including How Green Was My Valley (1941), All About Eve (1950), Gentlemen's Agreement (1947), and The Robe (1953).

The studio nearly collapsed under the weight of Cleopatra (1963), one of the most expensive productions in Hollywood history, before recovering through the hit musical The Sound of Music (1965). The late 1960s brought another financial crisis, followed by a recovery driven by disaster films and action blockbusters.

The studio's commercial fortunes transformed permanently when it distributed George Lucas's Star Wars (1977), which became the highest-grossing film in history at the time and launched a franchise the studio would distribute (though not own) for decades. Subsequent defining releases include Alien (1979), 9 to 5 (1980), Tootsie (1982, distributed), Aliens (1986), Predator (1987), Die Hard (1988), Home Alone (1990), Edward Scissorhands (1990), Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), Speed (1994), Independence Day (1996), Titanic (1997, co-produced with Paramount), Moulin Rouge! (2001), Ice Age (2002), X-Men (2000), Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007), Avatar (2009, the highest-grossing film of all time), The Martian (2015), and Ford v Ferrari (2019).

Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation acquired the studio in 1985, renaming it through several corporate iterations before selling the entertainment assets to Disney in a $71 billion deal completed in 2019. Following the acquisition, Disney rebranded the studio as 20th Century Studios (dropping the Fox name for trademark reasons) and repositioned it as a distinct label within the Disney portfolio.

What Filmmakers Should Know

Under Disney ownership, 20th Century Studios continues to develop and produce theatrical films across a broad range of genres. The studio's development team evaluates projects through agents and established producer relationships. Disney has maintained the studio's identity as a broad-audience commercial label rather than merging it with Disney's flagship brand, giving it a somewhat more adult-skewing mandate.

The Fox Studio Lot remains an active production facility available for rental by independent and studio productions.

See Also

For understanding how major studio acquisitions affect the industry, see Distribution Deals Explained. To model revenue projections for studio releases, use the Revenue Forecast Calculator.