Fox 2000 Pictures is an American filmproduction company within The Walt Disney Studios. A sister studio of the larger film studio20th Century Studios, specializing in producing independent films in mid-range releases that largely targeted underserved groups. It will be dissolved in 2020 after releasing its final film The Woman in the Window, following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by The Walt Disney Company on March 20, 2019. Films from Fox 2000 are released under the 20th Century Fox banner. Fox 2000 Pictures had produced over 50 films. Fox 2000's Life of Pi was nominated for a number of awards and did well at the box office. Marley & Me is the largest Fox 2000 commercial success with a record for the largest Christmas Day box office ever with $14.75 million in ticket sales. The division's highest-grossing film was Life of Pi with $609 million.
History
Fox 2000 Pictures was formed as a division of 20th Century Fox in 1994 with Laura Ziskin as president. In May 1997, producer Art Linson moved his Knickerbocker Films banner from 20th Century Fox to Fox 2000 with a three-year, exclusive production agreement. In 2000, Ziskin left the division and Elizabeth Gabler was hired to replace her. In February 2012, Gabler renewed her contract as president of Fox 2000. Fox 2000 signed Karen Rosenfelt's Sunswept Entertainment to a first-look production deal. In July 2014, the division agreed to a three-year first-look production deal with Color Force, a production partnership of Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson. The Jackal Group, a Fox Networks Group and Gail Berman partnership, signed a first-look feature film production deal with Fox 2000 for Berman in February 2015. Fox 2000 Pictures was one of the Fox film studios that was acquired by The Walt Disney Company on March 20, 2019. The division was originally announced to continue operating after the acquisition, which gave Disney 11 film units. However, on March 21, it was reported that Disney would shut down the studio on October 4, 2019, following the release of The Woman in the Window. Deadline Hollywood was surprised as Fox 2000 was considered to be ideal for streaming films, which was the reason for the 21st Century Fox acquisition. However, Fox Searchlight Pictures is also an indie division leaving little room for Fox 2000. The division is currently set to shut down sometime in 2020 due to The Woman in the Window getting delayed because of the negative test audience response towards the third act and the coronavirus pandemic.
