Disney ends the historic 20th Century Fox brand

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Disney ends the historic 20th Century Fox brand

20th Century Fox, one of the most-recognised names in entertainment history, is officially no more. Walt Disney has brought to an end one of the best-known names in the entertainment industry, 20th Century Fox.

It comes as the legendary House of Mouse has rebranded one of its TV studios as 20th Television.

It follows January's rebranding of the 85-year-old film company 20th Century Fox as 20th Century Studios.

Last year Disney completed a $71.3bn (£54.7bn) deal to buy the bulk of Rupert Murdoch's Fox media assets.

The original 20th Century Fox was formed in a merger in 1935 between Twentieth Century Pictures and Fox Film Corporation. 

The company’s art deco searchlight logo and rousing theme song became an iconic Hollywood brand, and the studio released some of the most beloved and successful movies in Hollywood history, including “Avatar,” “Titanic,” “Home Alone,” “Die Hard,” “Alien,” “Star Wars: A New Hope,” and “Planet of the Apes.”

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. bought 20th Century Fox in the mid-1980s, along with a suite of American television stations, which allowed Murdoch to create the Fox TV network. 

Fox’s TV programming set itself apart with a slate of irreverent and provocative shows that deliberately pushed the envelope of what was possible on broadcast television. 

Murdoch further expanded the Fox brand with the 1996 launch of Fox News, which established a reputation for conservative partisanship; by the time of Disney’s acquisition, Fox News had also weathered multiple sexual misconduct scandals.

All of it added up to specific associations with the word “Fox” in the media landscape that proved to be anathema to Disney’s scrupulously maintained family friendly brand.

As one insider puts it, “I think the Fox name means Murdoch, and that is toxic.”

Here’s a look back at Fox’s long history as it prepares to merge with Disney:

1915 - Fox Film Corp. created by William Fox. A key element was the Fox Theatres, which went into bankruptcy in 1933 and sold to National Theatres. The company moved from New Jersey to Echo Park and then Hollywood before settling in its present location west of Beverly Hills in 1926.

1935 - On May 31, Fox merges with 20th Century, created by Joseph Schenck and Darryl F. Zanuck, and becomes the last of the “big six” studios to be established (though film historians still argue whether this was the start date, or whether it traces back to the 1915 founding by William Fox).

1939 - Pint-sized Fox contract star Shirley Temple was named No. 1 box office attraction for fifth consecutive year. In the 1940s, the studio’s Betty Grable became No. 1.

1950 - “All About Eve” wins the best picture Oscar and five other Academy Awards.

1953 - Fox releases “The Robe” in its own new Cinemascope, a format promoted for its wider screen and more depth without 3D glasses; it was one of Hollywood’s big screen attempts to lure viewers away from the new medium of television.

1954 - Marilyn Monroe, under contract to Fox, became a star with three high-profile projects: “Niagara,” “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” and “How to Marry a Millionaire”

1956 - After two decades at the company, Zanuck resigns as head of production and moves to Paris to become an independent producer.

1958 - Variety reports that Fox president Spyros Skouras is near a deal to sell 176 acres of the Pico Avenue back lot for $40 million. The land was purchased by William Zeckendorf and turned into the current Century City shopping and office development. Hollywood legend says “Cleopatra” was to blame, but it hadn’t even begun filming. The real culprit: the growing popularity of TV forced a rethink of studio finances.

1958 - The company launches 20th Century Records, which lasts until 1982.

1962 - “Cleopatra,” starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, ends principal photography, two years after the start of production. Originally budgeted at $5 million, it ended up costing $44 million, including marketing costs. That translates to $360 million in current dollars — still one of the most expensive productions of all time.

1962 - Darryl F. Zanuck returns to Fox and installs his son as Richard Zanuck as head of production.

1963 - “Cleopatra” opens and becomes the highest-grossing film of the year. Still, it took years to earn a profit and because of its enormous costs, the lavish production forced massive layoffs and ended many planned productions.

1964 - 20th Century Fox TV debuts “Peyton Place,” America’s first prime-time soap, airing two new half-hour episodes each week.

1965 - “The Sound of Music” becomes the all-time box-office champ, earning $158 million, winning the best picture Oscar, and helping Fox rebound.

1972 - The Korean War-set series “MASH,” starring Alan Alda, debuts on CBS and the beloved half-hour comedy has a lengthy 11-year run until 1983. The finale earned a record 125 million viewers.

1977 - Under Fox production head Alan Ladd Jr., the George Lucas-directed “Star Wars” opens and becomes the all-time box-office winner, with $775 million, passing the 1975 “Jaws.”

1977 - Fox pioneered the new format of home video. When Andre Blay pitched all the studios on the idea of transferring films to videocassettes for consumers; Fox was the only studio interested.

1981 - Oil exec Marvin Davis and financier Marc Rich buy the studio for $722 million.

1984 - Rupert Murdoch and his News Corp. buy Rich’s interest in 20th Century Fox  for $250 million. Murdoch later buys Davis’s stake for $325 million.

1985 - 20th Century-Fox drops the hyphen.

1986 - “The Late Show with Joan Rivers” launches Fox Broadcasting Co., a bold bid to launch a fourth broadcast network and challenge the decades-old dominance of ABC, CBS, and NBC.

1987 - “Married … With Children” helps kicks off Fox’s first night of primetime programming on Sunday.

1989 - “The Simpsons,” the animated comedy spun off from Fox’s “The Tracey Ullman Show,” debuts on Fox Broadcasting and becomes an instant hit. The show is currently in season 29, breaking longevity records for an American series. The show is produced by 20th Century Fox Television, making it hugely profitable for the Murdoch empire.

1993 - Fox launches “The X-Files,” a prestige drama that becomes a massive global hit for 20th Century Fox Television.

1994 - Fox launches the FX cable channel.

1996 - Fox News Channel debuts. By 2009, it was airing 9 of the top 10 cable-news shows.

1997 - “Titanic” opens and holds the No. 1 position at box-office for 15 consecutive weeks, earning a record $1.8 billion and winning best picture at the Academy Awards. Fox has worldwide rights to the film, while Paramount distributes it domestically. It becomes the highest grossing film ever until it’s dethroned by another Fox movie, “Avatar.”

2000 - Fox Music created.

2009 - Director James Cameron breaks his own record as all-time box-office victor, as his “Titanic” is bested by “Avatar,” which scores $2.7 billion. Fox Searchlight’s

2009 - “Slumdog Millionaire” wins the best picture Oscar.

2013 - News Corp. remains a publishing company and spins off the media and entertainment portion, which becomes 21st Century Fox. Fox Searchlight’s “12 Years a Slave” wins best picture Oscar.

2014 - “Birdman,” another Fox Searchlight title, wins best picture.

2015 - Brothers James and Lachlan Murdoch take on oversight of 21st Century Fox as CEO and executive chairman, respectively.

2017 - The Murdochs begin discussions with Disney and other suitors for the film and TV operations of 21st Century Fox.