Fox is one of the only major Hollywood studios without a theme park anywhere. The studio has finally decided to get into the industry, although its first park will not be in the U.S. Instead, Fox is partnering with a park in Malaysia to bring its franchises to life.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Genting Malaysia Bhd., the operator of the only casino resort in Malaysia, has entered a licensing agreement with Fox as part of a 3 billion ringgit ($938.1 million) renovation of the resort.
Genting’s Genting Highlands is a 42-year-old hilltop resort in need of a major facelift, so the company is shutting down a theme park for the all-new Fox-centric park. It will cost $125 million to build and is estimated to be ready for visitors in 2016.
According to Variety, the 25 rides will take inspiration from Fox franchises like Alien, Night at the Museum, Ice Age and Rio - all films that have done well internationally and would be well known to tourists around the world.
“Brought to life by our partner Resorts World Genting, this theme park marks the launch of our global location based entertainment strategy,” Jeffrey Godsick, consumer products president of 20th Century Fox, said in a statement.
“This landmark development is our first response to the growing demand for theme parks with a cinematic nature,” Genting Malaysia’s chairman Lim Kok Thay said in a press conference.
Fox has clearly been looking to capitalize on its franchises lately, signing on to work with a Broadway producer earlier this month and continuing its partnership with Universal Studios Orlando to expand the Simpsons area. Fox also licensed Avatar to Disney for a major addition to DisneyWorld.
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