X-Men First Class Grabbed by FX

FX sure loves comic book based movies. From Deadline comes word that FX has closed a deal for the TV rights of X-Men: First Class. This acquisition means that FX has the rights to the entire X-Men franchise, including the original trilogy and Wolverine. These kinds of deals make sense since comic books movies tend to make a lot of money at the box office and First Class was no exception. It made $55.1 million in its opening weekend and was critically praised as perhaps the best in the franchise. FX also scooped up the rights to The Hangover: Part II when it became number one at the box office.

X-Men is joined by other superhero movie franchises whose rights FX owns, including Spiderman, Fantastic Four and the X-Men offshoot Wolverine. Through its output deal with Marvel, FX is getting Thor and the upcoming Captain America this year.

It’s a smart move to gather up as many of these superhero comic book movies, even before they get released. People paid to watch them in the theater, so why not watch them again when they run of FX’s channel? But it’s not just superheros they’re after. FX has gathered up other number one box office hits such as Tron: Legacy, The Green Hornet, Rango, Just Go With It and many others.

If I were you, I wouldn’t wait until First Class winds up being shown on TV, or for it to come out on home video. Go see it while it’s still in the theater, because it’s great.