  Logos used in the Balkans and Portugal since 2023, the Middle East since 2024, India since November 25, 2025 | |
| Ownership | |
|---|---|
| Owner | The Walt Disney Company |
| History | |
| Launched | April 20, 1994; 31 years ago (1994-04-20) (split fromStar Plus, Taiwan only)[1] June 1, 1996; 29 years ago (1996-06-01) (Malaysia) October 1, 2023; 2 years ago (2023-10-01) (Balkans) 7 February 2024; 21 months ago (2024-02-07) (Portugal)[2] |
| Replaced | BBC World Service Television 14 October 1991–17 April 1994[1] Fox Movies (Balkans and Portugal) |
| Closed | 31 December 2023; 22 months ago (2023-12-31) (Taiwan) |
| Replaced by | Fox Movies Premium (2012–2017; Southeast Asia) Fox Movies (Philippines, Vietnam, and Taiwan; first incarnation) |
| Former names | BBC World Service Television Asia 14 October 1991–1 May 1994 |
| Availability | |
| Streaming media | |
| JioHotstar | India |
Star Movies is anAsian-basedpay television channel owned byDisney Entertainment. Star Movies was originally launched in 1994 as a single channel broadcast across Asia, but it has regionalized into different localized channels since then.Fox Networks Group Asia Pacific have since rebranded some of the network's international feeds in Hong Kong, Taiwan (SD feed only), and Southeast Asia asFox Movies, but retains the Star Movies brand in the Middle East & South Asia (except Maldives).
Disney Star continues to operate the Indian feed of the network as a channel specialized in Western films, with the logo remaining completely unchanged since 2009. Meanwhile the Middle Eastern feed is operated byDisney Entertainment, keeping the 2009 logo (still used in India and Mainland China) until adopting the non-Indian Star channels' logo scheme in 2024, while Fox Movies was replaced by a new channel,Star Films.[3] In the Balkans and Portugal, the local versions ofFox Movies were replaced by Star Movies. Star Movies in the Middle East, Balkans and Portugal is managed by The Walt Disney Company.
Star Movies began broadcasting on 20 April 1994 for viewers in Taiwan, replacingBBC World Service Television in the Northern Beam region which was dropped on 17 April 1994. The channel became scrambled on 1 May 1994.[1] The need to launch the channel was based on research on viewers' preferences and feedback from cable operators.[1] At launch, Star Movies was a Mandarin and English movie channel, with 60% of the films in Chinese or produced in Asia and 40% being Western titles. The channel was only available through authorized cable operators.[1]
Star Movies was split up fromStar Plus on 1 May 1994, which usually aired movies in the early years ofStar TV from 1991 to 1994. At launch, its programming lineup consisted of bothHollywood andChinese films and catered to pan-Asian audiences.
As Star TV planned to removeBBC World Service Television from its channel lineup forNortheast Asia by mid-April 1994, the company planned to replace it with aChinese-language film channel.[4] Star Movies would focus on Western world films from then on. Star TV has since regionalized the channel's operation.
The channel was noticeably absent fromSingapore Cable Vision upon the launch of its cable service in 1995 due to censorship problems in the country.[5]
On 1 February 1996, the channel changed its logo from a STAR wordmark similar to Zee Cinema in 1995 to a box-type STAR symbol featuring a frame, a pentagram star, and a blue square.
It was launched in Malaysia on 1 June 1996.
A localized feed intended for Taiwan was launched on 1 January 1997, Southeast Asia and China on 1 May 1997, and the Philippines on 1 January 2010. Four months later, a high-definition channel, Star Movies HD, was launched. Avideo on demand channel was also launched on 16 September of that same year.[6]
On 1 April 1999, the channel had a first major logo change from vertical to horizontal, along with other STAR TV channels.
On 1 January 2012, Star Movies was rebranded as Fox Movies Premium and available in Hong Kong, the Maldives, and most Southeast Asia.
On 10 June 2017, the channel's Philippine feed was rebranded as Fox Movies Philippines. In other Southeast Asian countries and Hong Kong, Fox Movies Premium rebranded to Fox Movies on the same day. The channel shut down on 1 October 2021 in these regions along with other local versions of several Disney- and Fox-branded channels.
On New Year's Day 2022, Fox Movies Taiwan was renamed under the new name Star Movies Gold so that Star Movies HD remains active with the programming separate from each other. As Disney decided to further enrollDisney+ across the Asian markets, they had decided tocease further pay TV broadcasting, including both Star Movies Gold and Star Movies HD. Both of the channels were ceased in operation on January 1, 2024.[7][8]
On 7 June 2023, Disney announced that it would launchStar Movies in theBalkans as a replacement for Fox Movies in the region on 1 October 2023.[9] Disney would later announce that it would also replace Fox Movies inPortugal (in addition toAngola andMozambique) withStar Movies on 7 February 2024.[10]
Star Movies has first-run contracts for movies distributed byDisney (20th Century Studios,Pixar,Marvel Studios) and sub-run contracts for movies from countries where Star Movies is available. It also features movies from other movie distributors includingParamount Pictures,Lionsgate,Summit Entertainment andThe Weinstein Company. Star Movies mainly airs Disney movies during the daytime hours. Star Movies India does fewer premieres compared to sometimes showing programs likeMasterchef Australia and pushing more premium movies into their OTT platformDisney+ Hotstar.[citation needed]
Star Movies India is distributed byWalt Disney Studios,Pixar,Marvel Studios and20th Century Studios in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and is ad supported. Movie premieres are less frequent compared to other feeds. Other studios includeLionsgate,NBCUniversal[citation needed] andWarner Bros. Discovery.[citation needed] Available audio feed languages are English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. The channel ceased broadcasting in Nepal and Sri Lanka from 1 February 2015 due to content rights issues, leaving the country with no Star Movies or Fox Movies channel.[citation needed] The channel was relaunched in Nepal and Sri Lanka in 2019 after 4 years.[11]
Star Movies Select HD was launched on 9 July 2015 showcasing niche films.[12] An SD feed was launched on 15 March 2023 along with the launches and shutdowns of several other Star channels.[13]
Star Movies Middle East and Africa features a hardcodedArabic-language subtitle track (except for Israel). The channel is currently available onbeIN and was formerly available onOSN (as of January 1, 2024).
On 1 March 2024, Star Movies MENA rebranded for the first time in 16 years and stopped using its 2009 logo (which is still used in India and Mainland China).[14]
Managed with The Walt Disney Company Bulgaria. Features numerous films from20th Century Studios,Disney,Columbia Pictures,Pixar,Marvel Studios,Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, andDreamWorks. On June 7, 2023, it was announced thatFox Movies would be rebrand to Star Movies on October 1, 2023.[9]
It was launched on 1 July 2011, replacing the series and cinema channelFox Next.[15] FOX Movies is accompanied by a high definition version, FOX Movies HD, which began broadcasting on July 15, 2011 exclusively onMEO. The channel is also available in Angola and Mozambique, through the operatorZAP, whereFox Next was previously also available. In African and European territory, FOX Movies and FOX Movies HD are available on a subscription basis. Fox Movies was rebranded to Star Movies on 7 February 2024.[16][17][18][19]
It was launched on 2 June 2013 only in India, replacing Fox Action Movies (not to be confused withits Southeast Asian counterpart) after its temporary closedown on 11 May 2013. The channel airs action- and horror-themed movies. In 2017, the channel was shut down.[20]
An ad-supported feed of Star Movies was launched forTaiwan specifically. It was the most localised feed of the television network, since most voice-overs in promotions for upcoming movies were done inMandarin Chinese. The SD feed of the channel was rebranded as Fox Movies Taiwan on 18 January 2018, while the HD feed still retains is independent programming and branding. On January 1, 2022, Fox Movies Taiwan was rebranded to Star Movies Gold. On January 1, 2024, the Taiwanese versions of Star Movies Gold and Star Movies HD were discontinued.[21]
