| Star Studios | |
| Former Names: | Fox Star Studios |
| Type: | Subsidiary |
| Location City: | Mumbai, Maharashtra |
| Location Country: | India |
| Key People: | Bikram Duggal[1] |
| Industry: | Motion pictures |
| Parent: | Star TV (2008-2014) 21st Century Fox (2014-2019) Disney India (2019-present) |
Star Studios (formerly known as Fox Star Studios) is an Indian motion picture production and distribution company. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Disney Star (via Disney Entertainment), part of the Disney International Operations segment of The Walt Disney Company.[2] The studio produces Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and other South Asian language films through acquisitions, co-productions and in-house productions for worldwide distribution.
Star Studios was one of the 21st Century Fox and Star India film production companies that was acquired by Disney on March 20, 2019. The studio's current name was adopted on May 27, 2022 in order to avoid confusion with Fox Corporation.
Starting with the international release of (2022), all of Star Studios' films are now handled internationally by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.[3] [4] [5] [6]
The studio was founded in March 2008 as a joint venture between 20th Century Fox and co-owned by Star India. In 2009, the studio acquired the rights for My Name Is Khan, the studio’s debut film as distributor.[7] [8]
In 2011, Fox Star Studios entered the Tamil film industry with Engaeyum Eppothum, as co-producing and distributing partner for AR Murugadoss's AR Murugadoss Productions. In 2013, the studio released Tamil-feature Raja Rani, which won four Tamil Nadu State Film Awards.[9] In 2015, the studio entered 9-film deal with Dharma Productions as a co-producer and distributor.[10] In 2016, Kapoor & Sons was released as the first film under the arrangement.[11] The same year, the studio won National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi for its in-house production Neerja. The studio also released , the biopic of then Indian Cricket captain MS Dhoni. In 2017, the studio entered a three-film deal with Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment.[12] In May 2018, the studio entered multi-film deal with Akshay Kumar's Cape of Good films and had set Mission Mangal with Kumar attached to star.[13] In 2019, the studio released Chhichhore which it co-produced with Nadiawala Grandson Entertainment had won National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi 2019.
In early 2020, the studio had released Chhapaak starring Deepika Padukone, sports-drama Panga starring Kangana Ranaut and Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Shikara all of which are lukewarmly received by the audience.[14] [15] [16] The studio had released Baaghi 3 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and the film ended its box-office run as the second-highest grossing Hindi-film of 2020.[17] In June 2020, Star India, the parent company of the studio decided to release the rest of the 2020 slate directly on the sister streaming platform Disney+ Hotstar under Disney+ Hotstar Multiplex Initiative. The films released on the platform were Dil Bechara, Lootcase, Sadak 2, and Laxmii.[18] In late 2020, several reports indicate The Walt Disney Company's was not going greenlighting newer films with the studio ceasing its operations after the releases of Tadap and Brahmāstra as the studio's CEO Vijay Singh has resigned.[19] [20] In December 2021, the studio released Tadap.[21] In February 2022, the studio ended speculations of ceasing operations by announcing Babli Bouncer starring Tamannaah Bhatia, co-produced with Junglee Pictures.[22] In March 2022, the company announced the release of Kaun Pravin Tambe? on Disney+ Hotstar.[23] Soon after the studio started production on Manoj Bajpayee starrer Gulmohar.[24] Later that month, the studio along with Dharma Productions had acquired the remake rights for blockbuster Malayalam film Hridayam in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu.[25]
On 27 May 2022, Fox Star Studios was renamed Star Studios, as part of the removal of the "Fox" name from studios that had been acquired from 21st Century Fox by Disney.[26]
The Fox Star Studios logo was based on the 1994-2009 20th Century Fox logo (the logo appeared in Quick Gun Murugun & and the end of My Name is Khan) and the 2009 style was made by the now-defunct Blue Sky Studios (who made the 2009-2020 20th Century Fox logo), the 2010-2022 Fox Star Studios logo (albeit with the News Corporation byline removed in 2013) debuted in My Name is Khan and the last film to use is Kaun Pravin Tambe?.
On May 27, 2022, it was reported that Disney had internationally begun to phase out the "Fox" name from the studio's branding as it is no longer tied to the current Fox Corporation, with Fox Star Studios respectively renamed to simply Star Studios.
The current print & on-screen Star Studios logo is based on 20th Century Studios logo and the 2021 Star logo from the Star hub of Disney+. Branding elements associated with the studio, including the searchlights, monolith, and fanfare, will remain in use. The first film that carries the new Star Studios name is Brahmāstra: Part One Shiva. Star Studios print and front-facing logo (similar to the 2020 Searchlight Pictures print logo) debuted in the posters for the film, as well as the trailer for Babli Bouncer. The on-screen logo debuted on September 9, 2022, with Brahmāstra: Part One and later appeared in Babli Bouncer and Disney+ Hotstar original Hindi film Gulmohar, based on Picturemill and Blue Sky's animations.
Based on the original 20th Century Studios fanfare composed by Alfred Newman and adapted by David Newman, the current Star Studios fanfare retains a similar composition with added Indian instruments such as sitar, sarod, tambura, sahnai, sarangi, and tabla.[27]
See main article: List of Star Studios films.