20th Century Fox was one of the biggest movie studios in Hollywood, and while it was acquired by Disney, it's still operating under the new name 20th Century Studios and is gearing up for the release of Avatar 2. Avatar: The Way of Water, is set to be a huge moneymaker for the now-Disney subsidiary and is one of the few upcoming 2022 movies that still has the potential to gross over a billion dollars. But the studio is no stranger to box office success.
Under the name of 20th Century Fox, the studio had so many huge hits, whether it was distributing other production companies' movies or their own productions. Between a sleeper hit, a sci-fi odyssey spectacle, and an overperforming biopic phenomenon, the studio has made billions. And over the course of 40-plus years, Fox proved it was the master of marketing.
Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) - $775.3 Million
Star Wars: A New Hope was a spectacle and an event movie more than any other at the time. And it's one of the first examples of excessive repeat viewings from fans. That must have come as a huge surprise to studio executives, as, according to Looper, Fox didn't think the film would take off. What's even more impressive and what a lot of people don't know is that the 1977 movie was made with a budget of just $11 million, which is nothing short of awe-inspiring given its groundbreaking visual effects.
Most of 20th Century Fox's highest-grossing movies are from the 2000s or late '90s, and that's due to inflation, as the cost of a cinema ticket is much higher now than it was 45 years ago. If A New Hope's gross is adjusted for inflation, the box office intake is over $3.8 billion, making it easily Fox's highest-grossing movie ever.
Deadpool (2016) - $781.9 Million
Surprisingly, Deadpool grossed more than any other X-Men movie. It beat out Days of Future Past and any of the earlier films despite it not being totally clear how the character fits into the universe. Deadpool would have been successful regardless due to the quality of the film, how the producers managed to stretch the relatively low budget of $58 million, and how much care was put into being faithful to the source material. But Deadpool's phenomenal success was a result of incredible marketing.
The promotional campaign for the 2016 movie is a masterclass in marketing, whether it was the incredible Red Band trailers, the posters mocking Ryan Reynolds' worst movies, or the Deadpool emojis. On top of that, releasing the movie around Valentine's Day was a genius example of counterprogramming.
Deadpool 2 (2018) - $786.3 Million
While $783 million is a huge figure, Fox was surely hoping for an even bigger number for the Deadpool sequel. Deadpool 2 only made $5 million more, despite having almost double the budget and the success of the predecessor behind it. However, the box office gross is still a great turnout, especially for an R-rated movie.
The 2018 movie is the very highest grossing X-Men movie, and that's thanks to the way it pokes even more fun at the superhero movie genre while still taking the source material seriously. But with Deadpool 3 in Disney's hands after the House of the Mouse acquired 20th Century Fox, the studio will no doubt pull out all the stops and do everything it possibly can to reach that rare 10-figure mark.
Independence Day (1996) - $817.4 Million
It's impressive that Independence Day still manages to have a firm place in Fox's list of highest-grossing movies despite being 26 years old. The film wasn't part of any existing franchise, and, like A New Hope, the cost of a movie ticket back then was much lower. The film is the fourth-highest-grossing movie of the 1990s, and that's thanks to the star power Will Smith brought to the release, along with the alien invasion high concept.
But what really pushed the hype over the edge was the movie's aggressive marketing campaign. It seems like Fox has the best marketing department out of any major studio, as, according to Box Office Mojo, it was the very first film to have a trailer during the Superbowl, and it featured the iconic shot of the White House blowing up.
Star Wars: Revenge Of The Sith (2005) - $849 Million
While the Star Wars franchise now belongs to Disney, 20th Century Fox enjoyed a lucrative partnership with LucasFilm for the first six episodes of the Skywalker Saga. Revenge of the Sith is the final episode in the prequel trilogy and it saw Anakin completely transition into Darth Vader. That was what the previous two films were leading up to, and it's what audiences were waiting to see for decades, which is why it comes as a surprise that the 2005 movie wasn't the highest-grossing of the three.
It just goes to show how much damage a sequel can do to a franchise, as the movie's comparatively low box office intake is most likely due to the disappointing predecessor, Attack of the Clones. However, Revenge of the Sith still made almost $200 million more than Episode II, but almost $200 million less than Episode I. Regardless of its box office performance and some of its shortfalls, Revenge of the Sith is still one of the best revenge movies.
Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012) - $879.7 Million
Based on the critical response to the movies, the Ice Age franchise has decreased in quality with each consecutive release, but it didn't stop families from showing up in droves every time a new one hit theaters. The fourth movie in the series, Continental Drift, repeated many of the beats of the first two movies, and there wasn't much variety in the animation either.
Everything looks typically icy and it doesn't introduce any interesting new characters, but the film somehow managed to earn a massive $879 million. Once again, Fox thought outside the box when it came to marketing, as the studio released two shorts promoting the film, which were attached to other animated movies. Both of the shorts focused on the beloved squirrel trying (and failing) to catch the acorn, and they're better than the main event.
Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs (2009) - $886.7 Million
While it isn't the best film in the series, the third Ice Age movie, Dawn of the Dinosaurs, is the only sequel in the franchise that actually attempts something different from the usual Paleolithic affair. It's hardly surprising that Dawn of the Dinosaurs is the highest-grossing movie in the series, as it's the most colorful and easily the funniest.
The movie also introduces Buck, a one-eyed weasel who hunts dinosaurs, and he's the most interesting character in the franchise. The character has charisma and is eccentric, and he adds energy to the movie that the series hadn't previously had. And as dinosaurs make any movie better, that's exactly the case with the 2009 movie too.
Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) - $886.9 Million
While some think the movie would have benefitted from a different director, 2018's Bohemian Rhapsody was still exciting and entertaining enough to make close to $900 million. That's unheard of for a biopic, but the glitz and glamor of Queen were too alluring to pass up. Rami Malek delivered an incredible and uncanny performance as Freddie Mercury, and the band performances really felt like the real Queen was on screen.
The movie's overwhelming box office success is the reason why other spectacular musical biopics have been thrust into development, with the most recent example being Elvis. But while they have recaptured the movie's magic, they've failed to recapture the movie's phenomenal box office success.
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999) - $1.027 Billion
Marking 20th Century Fox's first billion-dollar movie, it came as no surprise whatsoever that The Phantom Menace grossed 10 digits. And even though Revenge of the Sith was the epic conclusion to Anakin's story arc, it wasn't enough to top the incredible success of the 1999 movie.
Darth Maul became an instantly iconic villain before the movie was even released, pod racing was such a phenomenon that a hugely popular video game was spawned out of it, and, love him or hate him, Jar Jar Binks is still such a huge talking point. And even haters of the divisive movie admit that The Phantom Menace still has a great ending. All of that combined makes for a mostly satisfying Star Wars adventure that once again had fans visiting theaters multiple times.
Avatar (2009) - $2.845 Billion
Avatar isn't just 20th Century Fox's highest-grossing film; but it's the highest-grossing movie of all time, only once being briefly dethroned by Avengers: Endgame. Even then, after a limited rerelease, Avatar quickly took back that throne. There was so much hype surrounding the 2009 movie, and no other film could compete with its envelope-pushing 3D and digital effects.
Even by today's standards, the film still looks beautiful. And with the upcoming sequel, the Avatar series could have a higher box office gross than some long-running franchises, and that's with just two films, which is a feat that only James Cameron could achieve.