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10
NEWS CORPORATION ANNUAL REPORT 2004
A string of hit movies and record
home entertainment sales gave
20th Century Fox Film, News
Corporation’s 82 percent-owned
Fox Entertainment Group’s film
studio, record operating profits
for the third straight year in
fiscal 2004.
Fox’s most successful film of
the year at the box office was
Day After Tomorrow. Following
its May 2004 release, the film
was a hit in North America and
number one in many interna-
tional territories. Its outstanding
performance continued into fis-
cal 2005 and the film has earned
more than US$500 million at the
worldwide box office.
Day After Tomorrow was the
biggest in a string of successful
films for Fox in fiscal 2004, start-
ing with League of Extraordinary
Gentlemen in the first quarter,
and continuing through Oscar-
winner Master and Commander;
holiday-season comedy Cheaper
by the Dozen; April’s action
movie Man on Fire; and June’s
goofball comedies Dodgeball
and Garfield.
Master and Commander,
released in November 2003,
received tremendous critical
acclaim, garnering 10 Academy
Award nominations. It was
soon followed by the surprise
family hit of the holiday season,
Cheaper by the Dozen.
Man on Fire opened at num-
ber one at the box office and
was followed two months later
21st Century Records For 20th Century Fox
TALE OF THE TAPE: DVD AND VIDEO SALES SOAR
Television Studios: Critical
Acclaim and High Ratings
The Company’s main TV
production studio, 20th Century
Fox Television (TCFTV), has
received network orders for 21
series – including 12 returning
and nine new series – for the
upcoming TV season.
FOX ordered 15 series, CBS
ordered three, ABC ordered
two and the WB ordered one.
TCFTV series were hits
among both viewers and critics,
with the studio netting a string of
award nominations. The studio
received 25 Emmy nominations,
including eight for 24, seven
for Arrested Development and
four for The Practice. Arrested
Development also received five
Television Critics Association
Awards nominations – the most
of any show – and won two.
In primetime animation,
the studio again demonstrated
its established expertise when
Family Guy became the number
one-selling TV title on DVD and
was put back into production for
FOX and The Cartoon Network.
Meanwhile, Fox Television
Studios (FTS) produced tele-
movie Redemption, the highest-
rated movie of the year to air
on Fox’s general entertainment
channel, FX.
Malcolm in the Middle, pro-
duced by Fox Entertainment
Group’s 50 percent-owned
Regency Television, was sold
into syndication, and The Bernie
Mac Show, jointly produced by
Regency Television and TCFTV,
received critical acclaim and
two prestigious Humanitas
Award nominations.
Armed with a large library of
Fox movies and television
series, the Company’s home
entertainment division sold
more DVDs and videos than
ever before.
In the United States, five
titles – X2: X-Men United,
Cheaper by the Dozen, Master
and Commander, Daredevil
and League of Extraordinary
Gentlemen – reached sales of
more than US$70 million.
Illustrating the strength of the
home entertainment market as
an important revenue stream,
the U.S. video release of
Phone Booth and League of
Extraordinary Gentlemen both
beat their U.S. box office returns.
But it wasn’t just the
Company’s film titles that
attracted consumer interest.
Sales of Fox-produced televi-
sion series on video were also
strong. Fox had three of the top
five TV DVD titles in fiscal
2004: the third season of The
Simpsons; volume one of Family
Guy and volume two of Family
Guy. In fact, such was the
success of the Family Guy
video releases that the series –
currently in hiatus – will be
brought back to broadcast
television next season. Other
strong performances from TV
series during the year included
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and 24.
As well as new releases, hit
movies released on video in
previous years – known as cat-
alog titles – continued to make
significant contributions. The
high-performing catalog titles
in fiscal 2004 included Ice
Age, Super Troopers, X-Men,
Office Space, Cast Away and
Unfaithful.
In the U.S., Fox’s Home
Entertainment division was
named Wal-Mart Supplier of
the Year for 2003, and home
electronics retailer Best Buy
awarded Fox its Bravo Award
as best vendor for 2004, an
indication of the incredible
sales success the Company has
had in home entertainment.
In May 2004, Fox Home
Entertainment acquired the
rights to distribute on VHS and
DVD one of the year’s biggest
box office hits, The Passion of
the Christ, which was released
on August 31.
by an outstanding opening for
Garfield. A week later, the num-
ber one opening for Dodgeball
gave Fox its fourth straight
US$20 million-plus opening
weekend at the box office.
Dodgeball has since gone on to
gross more than US$100 million
in the U.S. Soon after the end
of the fiscal year, I, Robot and
Alien vs. Predator both opened at
number one, giving Fox its fifth
and sixth consecutive movie
openings above US$20 million.