Hot Property

After Miramax Film Corp.'s The Crying Game earned $60 million and the Best Original Screenplay Oscar, the hot studio was courted by the likes of Columbia and Paramount. But Walt Disney Co. won out, announcing that it will buy Miramax for an estimated $80 million. Disney, which prevailed in part because it let Miramax retain complete freedom over its projects, gets Miramax's library of more than 200 films, including smash hits such as sex, lies, and videotape. Miramax, with Disney backing, can now make bigger-budget films and perhaps secure more lucrative deals for cable and home-video markets.