FX Buys ‘Sing’, ‘Hidden Figures’, ‘Trolls’, ‘Passengers’, 3 Others As Demand For Theatrical Movies On Basic Cable Grows
FX has added a few more solid boxoffice performers to its collection of tentpole theatrical movies. The list includes current releases Sing ($217 million boxoffice domestically to date), Hidden Figures ($30 million and current boxoffice #1), Passengers ($83 million), Why Him? ($50 million), Assassin’s Creed ($50 million) and Office Christmas Party ($54 million) as well as recent animated opener Trolls ($151 million). The movies come from Fox, Universal, Sony and Paramount.
FX moved aggressively into the movie acquisitions business several years ago while its basic cable competitors were still betting on off-network procedural dramas. As ratings for acquired dramas on cable have slipped, forcing some write-offs on pricey off-network buys, theatrical movies have become more and more attractive as they have proven to be solid ratings performers on ad-supported cable, on average outpacing off-network dramas. That has made the marketplace more competitive, with FX facing other basic cable networks when pursuing movie rights but relying on its position as an incumbent.
Turner recently outbid rivals to land a massive Star Wars package, which includes 11 movies – 5 new and the 6 old ones.
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