Disney's 21st Century Fox purchase is just days away from closing.
Disney expects the $71 billion acquisition to be finalized on March 20, Variety reported on Tuesday. The deal was originally announced in December 2017 and has since been slowly receiving approval from regulators around the world.
Disney is now set to own the 20th Century Fox film studio, which has released blockbuster movies including Avatar, Deadpool, and X-Men. Fox's films accounted for 9.1 percent of the box office revenue generated in the U.S. in 2018, per Box Office Mojo. If Disney had owned these films last year, the company would have taken in 35 percent of 2018's total domestic box office revenue. Disney will now own the four planned sequels to Avatar, the highest-grossing film of all time, and Fox-owned Marvel characters like Deadpool and the X-Men are expected to be incorporated into Disney's Marvel Cinematic Universe, which has so far grossed more than $18 billion worldwide.
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The acquisition will also give Disney control over FX and National Geographic, as well as a 60 percent stake in Hulu. Additionally, films from Fox's library can be added to Disney's upcoming streaming service, Disney+, which launches later this year. Some of 21 Century Fox's business will remain separate from Disney, though, including the Fox network, Fox News, and Fox Sports, CNN reports. They'll exist under a separate company called Fox Corporation.
At least 4,000 layoffs are expected after the merger goes through, The Hollywood Reporter writes.
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