The lawsuit contends that the Disney+ release siphoned potential theatergoers, costing her potential compensation tied to the movie’s theatrical revenue.
The film was intended for a theatrical-only debut, falling in line with her previous eight outings alongside fellow Avengers, but when Covid-19 shuttered cinemas, it jumped around the schedule before landing a now rather familiar hybrid release: simultaneously available on the big screen as well as on Disney+ for a $30 rental.
Her lawyers have claimed this to be a breach of contract, that the star signed on to the film believing it would be for cinemas exclusively and that despite alleged attempts to renegotiate when things changed, there remains a discrepancy between what’s in the small print and how it was released on the small screen.
Its underwhelming theatrical showing – the film suffered a 67% decline in its second weekend stateside, the worst for any MCU movie – has been attributed directly to its availability at home and Johansson’s original contract guaranteed her a share of its box office receipts which are now far less than expected.
The news, which is still sending last act showdown-level shockwaves around the industry, is both surprising and inevitable. A star of her scale taking on a studio of an even bigger scale, potentially burning whatever bridges remain, is an unusual gambit but it’s a fight that’s been steadily brewing since the pandemic sped up the streaming wars last year.
The Walt Disney Co. are not taking it lying down – instead, they are fighting back. In a biting statement in which they said that the litigation showed a “callous disregard” to the Covid-19 pandemic. They claimed to have fully complied with Johansson’s contract and furthermore, the release of Black Widow on Disney+ with Premier Access has significantly enhanced her ability to earn additional compensation on top of the $20 million she has received to date. In fact, the company’s revelation of the actor’s compensation was an unusual, on-the-record disclosure of star movie pay.
Johansson’s attorney, John Berlinski of Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP too, released a statement: “It’s no secret that Disney is releasing films like Black Widow directly onto Disney+ to increase subscribers and thereby boost the company’s stock price – and that it’s hiding behind Covid-19 as a pretext to do so. But ignoring the contracts of the artists responsible for the success of its films in furtherance of this short-sighted strategy violates their rights and we look forward to proving as much in court. This will surely not be the last case where Hollywood talent stands up to Disney and makes it clear that, whatever the company may pretend, it has a legal obligation to honor its contracts”.
I don't intend to take sides – but yeah, money is what makes the world go round!
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