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Fox Studio Lot

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Fox Studio Lot
Image
Image
Map
Former namesMovietone City
Twentieth Century Fox Film Studio
Alternative names
Fox Studios
General information
TypeFilm and television production studio
Corporate offices
Location10201 West Pico Boulevard
Los Angeles, California
48037
Coordinates34°03′05″N 118°24′38″W / 34.051306°N 118.410417°W / 34.051306; -118.410417
Opening1928; 98 years ago (1928)
Owner
Website
foxstudiolot.com

The Fox Studio Lot, also known as Fox Studios, is a film and television production complex located in the Century City neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Owned by Fox Corporation, the complex is home to the Fox Network Center, a broadcast facility for the Fox television network. The center also serves as the headquarters and flagship studio production facility for Fox Sports, including Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2, Fox Sports Interactive Media, and Fox Deportes. The studio lot features 80 buildings, including soundstages, backlot sets, television production and programming facilities, executive offices and support facilities.[1]

The complex was originally the historic home of the 20th Century Fox film studio, housing the studio's production and broadcasting facilities as well as those of its subsequent corporate divisions, including 20th Television, 20th Television Animation, FX Networks, and Searchlight Pictures. Following Disney's acquisition of these assets on March 20, 2019, the divisions eventually relocated to the Walt Disney Studios lot complex in Burbank, six years after the acquisition.

The complex also formerly housed broadcasting facilities for Fox Sports Networks which departed in 2012.

History

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Image
Former executive building for 20th Century Fox inside the Fox Studios Lot.

The complex first opened in 1928 as Fox Movietone City, after William Fox acquired 99 acres from Janss Investment Compnay and Tom Mix in 1924 and to establish a production facility for the Fox Film Corporation.[2][3] Stage 6 was built in 1930. Fox Film merged with Twentieth Century Pictures in 1935, forming 20th Century-Fox. At its peak, the lot covered 285 acres.[3]

In the 1950s, 20th Century-Fox president Spyros Skouras began to sell parcels of the lot to offset the studio's debts, which worsened during the production of Cleopatra (1963). In 1960, Skouras auctioned 176 acres of the lot's northern property; the following year William Zeckendorf and the Aluminum Company of America purchased the land from 20th Century-Fox for $43 million and demolished the on-site soundstages and bungalows.[4] That land was developed into Century City, a corporate, retail, and residential district of Los Angeles whose name was derived from that of the studio.[5]

In 1967, the backlot’s New York Street was constructed for the production of Hello, Dolly! (1969), after filming on location in modern-day New York City was deemed impractical for a story set in the 1890s. The set took four months to build and cost an estimated $2.25 million. Like many film sets, New York Street was originally intended to be temporary; however, the studio sought to recoup its investment by preserving the streetscape and leasing it to other studios for filming. Over the years, the set has appeared in numerous films and television productions, including Up the Sandbox (1972), New York, New York (1977), Charlie’s Angels (1976–1981), and Moonlighting (1985–1989).[6]

Following the launch of the Fox Broadcasting Company in 1986, the network had maintained offices at the complex while retaining its primary Los Angeles offices at Metromedia Square in Los Angeles. Following the expiration of the network's lease, Fox moved its television network headquarters to the complex beginning in 1997.[7] In 1998, Fox Sports moved its headquarters to the complex along with Fox Sports Net.

Following the completion of The Walt Disney Company's acquisition of 21st Century Fox, the company retained the complex as part of a seven-year lease.[8] Since 2021, the complex's Fox Network Center exists in a disaster recovery role for the master control operations of Fox's national sports and entertainment networks, which are primarily transmitting from the Fox Technology Center in Tempe, Arizona.[9][10][11]

On March 16, 2023, Fox announced the Fox Future Studio Lot project which would redevelop parts of the complex to construct new production facilities and an office complex.[12][13][14] As part of the investment, New York Street was completely rebuilt, combining the architectural character of mid-20th-century Lower Manhattan with modern production capabilities. The redesigned set includes electrical conduits connected to the studio’s power supply to avoid the use of generators, as well as thousands of square feet of integrated interior space behind the exterior façades, allowing productions to seamlessly film both inside and outside the structures.[6]

On April 1, 2025, Disney announced that it would vacate the complex by the end of the year, bringing 20th Century Studios’ 97-year presence and relationship with the lot to an end.[15][16][17]

In November 2025, Fox announced plans to split up the complex as part of a $1.5 billion redevelopment plan to construct nine new soundstages along with upgrades to several production facilities and to construct an office tower as part of its Fox Future project.[18][19] During the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the Fox Studio Lot served as a broadcasting hub for Fox Sports' coverage of the tournament.[20]

References

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  1. ↑ Bond, Paul (December 13, 2017). "Fox Studio Lot to Stay With Murdochs in Disney Merger (Report)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 5, 2026.
  2. ↑ "About Fox Studio Lot". Fox Studio Lot.
  3. 1 2 Vincent, Roger (March 22, 2019). "The Fox lot is one asset Rupert Murdoch wouldn't sell to Disney — for good reason". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 5, 2026.
  4. ↑ Kiefer, Peter (August 2, 2018). "Shirley Temple's Bungalow Became a Mall: Secrets of the Fox Lot Then and Now". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 5, 2026.
  5. ↑ Hayes, Dade (April 2, 2025). "Disney Pulling Up Stakes On Fox Lot By End Of 2025; Multiple New Potential Tenants In Talks". Deadline.
  6. 1 2 Vincent, Roger (March 7, 2024). "On a Hollywood studio lot, a new New York comes to life". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  7. ↑ Dickson, Glen (16 June 1997). "Fox building new uplink in L.A." (PDF). World Radio History. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  8. ↑ Holloway, Daniel (December 14, 2017). "Disney to Lease Fox Lot for Seven Years (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  9. ↑ "FOX Media Center, Tempe AZ — TBC Consoles". TBC Consoles. 10 August 2021. Archived from the original on 8 June 2026. Retrieved 4 September 2026.
  10. ↑ Dickson, Glen (21 July 2022). "Fox Pulls Back Curtain On Its Major Tech Transformation". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheckMedia, LLC. Archived from the original on 7 December 2023.
  11. ↑ Filips, Sara (15 November 2025). "FOX Corp presents Army vets with 2025 Pat Tillman scholarship". FOX 10 Phoenix. FOX Television Stations. Archived from the original on 10 April 2026. Retrieved 4 September 2026.
  12. ↑ Sharp, Steven (March 16, 2023). "Fox Studio Lot slated for $1.5-billion overhaul in Century City". Urbanize.
  13. ↑ "Fox Corporation Unveils "FOX FUTURE" Studio Lot Project". Fox Corporation. March 16, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Fox Studios' $1.5 billion upgrade to include 9 new sound stages in Century City". Los Angeles Daily News. March 16, 2023.
  15. ↑ Manfredi, Lucas (April 2, 2025). "Disney to Leave Fox Studio Lot by End of 2025, Moving Teams to Burbank". The Wrap.
  16. ↑ Vincent, Roger; James, Meg (April 1, 2025). "Disney plans to vacate storied Fox lot in Century City by year's end". Los Angeles Times.
  17. ↑ Cho, Winston (April 2, 2025). "Disney to Leave Fox Studio Lot, Relocate Teams to Burbank". The Hollywood Reporter.
  18. ↑ Schram, Lauren (November 11, 2025). "Fox advances studio lot redevelopment project in Century City". The Real Deal.
  19. ↑ Sami, Isabel (November 2025). "Fox plans to split up studio lot in Century City". Los Angeles Business Journal.
  20. ↑ Costa, Brandon (June 16, 2026). "FOX Sports Turns Los Angeles Pico Lot Into Its FIFA World Cup Production Nerve Center". SportsVideo.
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