When Disney decided to spend $71.3 billion to buy Fox, everyone knew the real reason for the purchase, the incredibly deep library of IP that the smaller studio controlled. Disney is making a big play for streaming supremacy and needed all the titles it could get to round out its service. Well, now that the deal has gone through and the Mouse House has decided to re-route some of Fox’s output, the company has revealed plans to take some beloved franchises and send them to Disney+.
According to Variety, who covered yesterday’s shareholders’ conference call, the studio announced that it would bring Fox franchises like “Home Alone,” “Cheaper by the Dozen,” “Night at the Museum,” and “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” to its upcoming streaming service Disney+. Not only are all of those titles box office winners, but they also obviously mix well with the vast amount of content that the studio is working on for its family-friendly streamer.
Before the Fox merger, much of what was announced as coming to Disney+ was birthed from the likes of Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm, with a dash of Disney remakes as well. But now, with the newest addition to the Mouse House, 20th Century Fox, the upcoming streaming service can add even more family-friendly content that doesn’t involve superheroes, laser sword battles, or previously used animated franchises.
And the new streamer needs all the help it can get. Though there’s really not much to be worried about with the streaming service, considering that it’s run by the biggest entertainment studio on the planet, the competition out there is fierce. Not only is it competing against the current big dog in the marketplace, Netflix, but Disney+ will also have to compete alongside HBO Max, Apple, Amazon, and whatever NBCUniversal spits out. Not to mention that other online platforms like Twitch and YouTube continue to grow in popularity, with Facebook also trying to get a piece of the content wars pie.
Long story short, adding a new “Home Alone” project to Disney+ is nothing but a win for the streaming service, as it plans its initial assault later this year.
