Behind the Fox-Disney merger

Hello readers.

Today, I am going to talk about the story of Fox merger with Disney.

Unlike the horizontal integration of Exxon and Mobil in creating Exxon Mobil Corporation, the merger of Disney and Fox will be unique and interesting, after a majority approval by 21st Century Fox and Dinsey shareholders.

Being a horizontal integration, it is a merger of major film studio, listed with different stock exchange, while Disney is NYSE listed,

21st Century Fox is NASDAQ listed,

and is an offspring of News Corporation.

Right now, the story of Disney and Fox merger begins in my article.

The Walt Disney Company, commonly knows as Disney, was founded in 1923 as Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, which produced various prominent characters, including Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Snow White, which becomes the first Disney Princess since the release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarf, the fist Disney film, 1938. In 1957, 4 years after the foundation of Buena Vista Distribution Co., Inc. (renamed as Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures), Disney became listed company and received an IPO in NYSE with a stock ticket as DIS, and used to present.

1979 saw the first Disney PG-rated film, The Black Hole,

was released, with mixed reviews and modest box office performance, while terminating G-rated only policy, after became MPAA member in the same year, before the film was released, Since 1980, the increasing of PG movies in Disney due to the ageing of Disney audiences led the foundation of Touchstone Pictures, an adult oriented film label. After the failure of the first PG-rated Disney's animation movie, The Black Cauldron, a fantasy horror animation film, the animation studio fell into bankruptcy, before reemerged into the new success with the release of The Little Mermaid, a G-rated Disney Animation film which was released in 1989, and started until 1999, with Tarzan. Among these, only Pocahontas, received mixed views and considered inferior among Disney Renaissance, despite with box office success. Disney Renaissance plays important role in Disney productions, since some of actors who voiced in Disney Renaissance films, has raised prominence, including Ming-Na Wen,

an American-Macanese well acclaimed actor, which voiced Fa Mulan in 1998 Disney's Mulan, also has a prominence for her lead role in Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., an ABC Marvel Cinematic Universe television series, as Agent Melinda Qiaolian May, a high ranking Asian S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, same rank as Agent Phillip Coulson and lower in one rank than Steve Rogers aka Captain America, a high ranking S.H.I.E.L.D. Commander and Sokovia Accords opponent, which leads Avengers in fighting crime and terrorism across the globe regardless of Global North and South.

Alongside with producing successful actors in Disney Renaissance, the box office success of Disney Renaissance films led various production of live action remakes, along with Disney Animation Classics, including Cinderella, directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also directed Thor that stars Chris Hemsworth (Marvel Cinematic Universe as Thor, James Hunt in Rush, George T. Kirk in Star Trek, The Huntsman in The Huntsman series, Kevin Beckman in Ghostbusters, and Agent H in MIB, a reboot of Men in Black series.),

The Jungle Book, directed by Jon Favreau (Iron Man series director along with Shane Black, while portrays Happy Hogan in Iron Man and other Marvel Cinematic Universe films, Carl Casper in Chef, also a director, Manny Riskin in The Wolf of Wall Street, and The Lion King director) who also voices Pygmy Hog,

Beauty and the Beast that stars Emma Watson (Hermione Granger in Harry Potter series, My Week with Marilyn as Lucy in her first post-Harry potter role as Lucy the wardrobe assistant, The Perks of Being a Wallflower as Sam for her first post-Harry Potter lead role, Nicki Moore in The Bling Ring by Sofia Coppola, and Ila in Noah),

Christopher Robin, which stars Evan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars prequel trilogy) and Hayley Atwell (Peggy Carter in Marvel Cinematic Universe),

and Dumbo, directed by Tim Burton (Batman and Batman Returns, Bettlejuice, Charlie and the Chocolate's Factory and Frankenweenie), while stars his frequent collaborator, Michael Keaton (Batman in Batman and Batman Returns, Raymond Sellars in RoboCop 2014, Ken in Toy Story 3 and 4, Raymond "Ray" Peyton, Sr. in Herbie: Fully Loaded, Chick Hicks in Cars, Monarch in Need for Speed by EA and Touchstone Pictures, Walter Nelson in Minions, Walter Robinson in Spotlight, Ray Kroc in The Founder, and Adrian Toomes/Vulture in MCU Spider-Man series).

Founded in 1984, Touchstone Pictures is the "pioneer of Disney's mature movies". The first picture, Splash, enjoyed box office success, signing the full beginning of Disney's mature movies. Touchstone Pictures released Down and Out in Beverly Hills, the first R-rated Disney film, although Walt Disney Pictures, the family and women oriented brand, has yet to release any film that the rating is stronger than PG-13, though also produced various PG-13 films, including Pirates of the Caribbean series and Saving Mr. Banks, although PG-13 Disney Pictures never enjoyed stable box office since the box office failure of John Carter and The Lone Ranger, compared to Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm that successful targeting male market across the globe, while Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm are Disney's box office miracle with the success of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Avengers: Infinity War, while TFA is the second fastest to cross $1 billion USD in 12 days and ranks the highest grossing films in North America, and third highest grossing film in the world and highest grossing Disney films, Avengers: Infinity War is the fastest film to reach $1 billion, doing so in 11 days, while ranks No.3 in North America highest grossing films, No. 2 in Disney highest grossing films, and No. 4 highest grossing films, without adjusted for inflation. The success of Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm led Disney Pictures saw it as it's niche brand. Being an adult oriented brand along with now-defunct Hollywood Pictures, Touchstone Pictures nevertheless produced the only G-rated film, Gnomeo and Juliet. With the box-office failure of R-rated The Fifth Estate that stars Benedict Cumberbatch (Khan Noonien Singh in Star Trek series, Doctor Strange in Marvel Cinematic Universe), Anthony Mackie (Papa Doc in 8 Mile, Sergeant J. T. Sanborn in The Hurt Locker, Sam Wilson/Falcon in Marvel Cinematic Universe, Adrian Doorbal in Pain & Gain, and Shawrelle Berry in Academy-winning Million Dollar Baby), and Daniel Bruhl (Niki Lauda in Rush, Hemlut Zemo in Marvel Cinematic Universe), the production of R-rated Disney halts, leaving only PG-13 as highest rating films among Disney, which total and complete in-beneficial to Fox Entertainment Group, since some high ranking Fox movies are R-rated movies, including Deadpool series, Logan, and Academy-winning Birdman and The Shape of Water.

When Disney purchased MARVEL in 2009 after the dissolution of Hollywood Pictures and sold of Dimension Films to THe Weistein Company, MARVEL was already producing Marvel Cinematic Universe films, including Iron Man, Avengers, Captain America, Thor and, Hulk, distributed by both Paramount and Universal, before all Marvel Cinematic Universe films , with the exception of The Incredible Hulk, are now distributed by Disney and Sony for Spider-Man since 2017, after Spider-Man returned to Marvel Studios as aftermath of Sony Pictures hacking, thanks to the release of The Interview, an American political satire film about assassination of Kim Jong-un, the dictator of North Korea. Currently, Disney, Sony and Universal are distributor of Marvel Cinematic Universe films since 2012, while Universal has a right of first refusal for future Hulk films, since Hulk has already appeared in silver screen from 2003, directed by Ang Lee and stars Eric Bana as Hulk. The Marvel Cinematic Universe was introduced in 2008, after the critical and commercial failure of Fox-Marvel production, Elektra, that brought Marvel co-production future into jeopardy. After the failure of Elektra, Marvel decided to produce films independently with Paramount Pictures as distributor. Since the success of Iron Man as the first Marvel Cinematic Universe films, Marvel decided to produce films independently before distribution was taken over by Disney in 2012, three years before Marvel Studios left Marvel Entertainment as film production company of Walt Disney Studios. The success in Marvel led itself became a successful vertical integration.

Another example of successful vertical integration is Lucasfilm, acquired in 2012, two years after Disney sold Miramax to Filmyard holdings in 2010. The acquisition made Lucasfilm characters, including Indiana Jones and Star Wars characters, are Disney owned. Besides with successful The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi that features Andy Serkis as Supreme Leader Snoke, who also casts Ulysses Klaue in Marvel Cinematic Universe, Lucasfilm also produces Star Wars anthology, Rogue One and Solo, though the latter is inferior compared to TFA, TLJ and Rogue One.

Since the success of Marvel and Lucasfilm, Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox will be one of biggest media vertical integration. Although Disney and Fox are prominent rivals in terms of media empire, they also co-operate in some fields. For example, ESPN, owned majority by Disney and Hearst, is also owned by Fox Networks Group in Asia like Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Singapore. In 2013, ESPN changed to Fox Sports Asia, Fox Sports Malaysia and Fox Sports Taiwan, fully owned by each nation's Fox Networks Group, while ESPN is retained in India with Sony Pictures Television India as joint venture. In addition with it, some ABC programs, like Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Inhumans, Agent Carter, and various non-Netflix Marvel Cinematic Universe series, are released via Fox Channels Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and the rest of Asia, as Fox Networks Group has a distribution deal with some ABC shows.

The acquisition of Fox by Disney will be able to let some 21st Century Fox assets, including Fox Entertainment Group (21st Century Fox), Fox Networks Group, Sky plc and parts of Hulu, to become Disney's one, although Disney has to sell Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox Television Stations, Fox Sports USA and 20th Century Fox Lot to New Fox, although the latter will be leased by Disney. The spin off of Fox Broadcasting Company, Television Station, Fox News and Fox Sports USA to New Fox is a necessary to prevent the mass saturation of terrestrial television, sports and news channels, that can cause negative competition. Acquiring of Fox can let Fox-Marvel characters fully return to Marvel characters family, like X-Men and Fantastic 4, while Daredevil and Elektra are already in Marvel Cinematic Universe family, before the acquisition of Fox, though it's impossible for the reboot of X-Men. Before the acquisition of Fox, there was some Marvel Cinematic Universe elements, like Helicarrier and Quicksilver, are total and complete different in Fox-Marvel and Marvel Cinematic Universe, to prevent copyright infringement as a copyright deal of Fox and Marvel. While the Helicarrier is seen but not mentioned in Deadpool, Quicksilver is different in Fox-Marvel and Marvel Cinematic Universe, as Quicksilver in X-Men is American teenager while Quicksilver is Sokovian Avenger and former HYDRA guinea pig in MCU, along with his fraternal twin sister, Scarlet Witch. The acquisition will be able to redeem the critical and commercial failure of Fant4stic, a reboot of Fantastic 4 that stars Michael Bakari Jordan as Human Torch, who also portrays Wakandan super-villain Erik "Killmonger" Stevens/N'Jadaka in Black Panther, while the 2005 version is played by Chris Evans, who also now portrays Captain America in Marvel Cinematic Universe. Disney would be able to own Avatar, the highest grossing film in the world, and Titanic, distributed in North America by Paramount Pictures, in which they are directed by James Cameron, a Canadian vegan-atheist-billionaire director. Disney will be able to control 40% of box office, that will be enough to control all North American box office. In addition with this, 20th Century Fox World in Malaysia and Dubai, the first two 20th Century Fox World in the world, will become Disney's owned theme parks and resorts since the acquisition of Fox by Disney. After the acquisition, the name of The Walt Disney Company will be remained, while Fox Entertainment Group could be continued for future releases, including R-rated movies, as Fox Entertainment Group can produce high quality R-rated movies like Birdman, The Revenant, The Shape of Water and etc., provided that Disney respects independent film studio, Fox Searchlight Pictures, that can produce high quality movies to boost Disney and Fox's revenue, in right way.

These are the stories behind the deal of Fox and Disney on merger. Thanks for reading the articles. This is Manuel Smith, signing off.