20th Century Studios



Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, often called simply 20th Century Fox, is a motion picture studio and distributor located in southern California. The studio was involved in the development of the original Star Wars trilogy and was responsible for the distribution of the prequel trilogy. Located in the Century City area of Los Angeles, just west of Beverly Hills, the studio is currently a subsidiary of 21st Century Fox, a spin-out (and de facto successor) of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.

20th Century Fox was actually not George Lucas's first choice for a distibutor of the film, having been preceded at least by Universal Studios, who turned his offer down. Lucas convinced Fox, or more specifically Alan Ladd, Jr., to supply the financing for Star Wars, due primarily to Ralph McQuarrie's artwork. In 1977, the company's risky investment paid off when Star Wars became an enormous hit. Fox's stock skyrocketed, and despite the sale of Star Wars merchandising and sequel rights to Lucas, the company still made strong profits.

Current ownership rights
Even after the release of the final Star Wars film, Fox continues to earn profits from the franchise due to DVD sales and distribuition revenue.

Despite The Walt Disney Company's 2012 purchase of Lucasfilm Ltd. and the release rights to all future Star Wars films, Fox still retrains original distribution rights to Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope "in perpetuity" in all media worldwide. Fox also retains theatrical, nontheatrical, and home video rights worldwide for the franchise's five subsequent films through May 2020, at which time ownership will transfer to Disney. This complex relationship between Fox and Disney, particularly in regards to Fox's perpetual rights to Episode IV, creates an obstacle for any future boxed set comprising all nine films.