Quick side question:
I’m just throwing this out there for anyone who might have the answer, but do we know exactly why Fox loses the rights to the other five movies in 2020 as opposed to some other time?
Just to clarify, I’m not asking for an explanation of why they’re losing the rights. That much has been made clear. I’m just wondering why it’s happening in 2020 and not some other time. I’m also curious how we were able to figure this out in the first place. There was an article written on some website shortly after the Disney deal that gave the 2020 date, but I don’t think it was ever explained how the writer knew it was 2020.
This article in the Hollywood reporter is the main source for the 2020 date, which is a solid source for industry reporting. A “fox insider” was apparently interviewed for the article.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/tangled-rights-could-tie-up-384541It’s also worth remembering that Disney has digital distribution rights to all but ANH.
So what? They have to give Fox money every time a digital copy of the Special Edition of a New Hope sells.
What would waiting till 2020 change? Nothing. They’ll have to give Fox money for every sale of Star Wars, Special Edition
or not.
Actually, Disney can’t sell ANH digital copies at all. You can’t buy ANH on the Disney Movies Anywhere platform.