Disney Kills Off Fox, Rebrands Labels 20th Century Studios and Searchlight Pictures

Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell comedy “Downhill” will be first film to display new name

20th century no fox disney

The Walt Disney Company has formally dropped the legacy Fox name from the studio brands following its acquisition last year of the 21st Century Fox, an individual with knowledge told TheWrap.

The new name for the 20th Century Fox will now simply be 20th Century Studios, and the art-house arm Fox Searchlight Pictures will become Searchlight Pictures.

No formal decisions have been made on the television side about adjusting the 20th Century Fox Television and Fox 21 Television Studios brands.

searchlight

The Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell movie “Downhill,” which is making its premiere at Sundance this month, will be the first Searchlight film to bear the new name and logo. And the Harrison Ford adventure film “Call of the Wild” will be the first film to carry the name 20th Century Studios.

While Disney acquired 21st Century Fox last March for $71.3 billion, including the film and TV studios, the name of Fox Corp., as led by CEO Lachlan Murdoch remained unchanged, leading to some potential brand confusion.

The name 20th Century Fox was formed following the merger of the film studios Twentieth Century Pictures and Fox Film Corporation in 1935. Since then, the legacy studio has released films such as “Aliens,” “Titanic,” “Home Alone,” “Die Hard,” “Planet of the Apes” and more along with its art deco logo and iconic orchestral theme music. Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. then purchased 20th Century Fox in the 1980s.

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