Scarlett Johansson Files Lawsuit Over Disney’s New ‘Black Widow’ Release
On Thursday, July 29, American actress Scarlett Johansson filed a lawsuit at the Los Angeles Superior Court against Disney for breach of contract. In the lawsuit, Johansson is against Disney’s decision to release Black Widow in theaters and simultaneously on Disney Plus.
This is big! Good for you, #ScarlettJohansson for standing up for your rights. Stars will agree to less $ & receive a % of theater sales. Going to Disney Plus at same time as theatrical release greatly benefits Disney, and costs SJ $$$. A contract is a contract! smh https://t.co/z7U5kl2SMm
— No Ordinary Love, Movie (@NOLMovie) July 29, 2021
According to Johansson’s attorneys, the actress’ payment for Black Widow was determined by the box office sales, and if certain standards were met, the actress would receive bonuses. When Disney’s decision to release the movie in theaters and on Disney Plus occurred, ticket sales weakened. As reported by The Wall Street Journal, sources close to Johansson estimate that the actress lost around $50 million in bonuses due to Disney’s decision.
Robert Downey Jr. got 15 million for 3 days work on Spider-Man: Homecoming. Scarlett Johansson should’ve headlined a film years ago, and was then also executive producer on this. Disney is unfair to her and to theatre owners I feel. https://t.co/Ly3ujLF45n
— Jana (@owlwithenvelope) July 30, 2021
Part of the lawsuit reads, “Disney intentionally induced Marvel’s breach of the agreement, without justification, to prevent Ms. Johansson from realizing the full benefit of her bargain with Marvel.”
Black Widow had an $80 million debut in North America and earned $78 million overseas. On Disney Plus, the Marvel spy thriller received $60 million. Due to weakened ticket sales over time, Black Widow might become one of the lowest-grossing Marvel movies.
Disney fires back at #BlackWidow star Scarlett Johansson pic.twitter.com/ySYZ9lpPgG
— Culture Crave 🍿 (@CultureCrave) July 29, 2021
“It’s no secret that Disney is releasing films like Black Widow directly onto Disney Plus 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,” Johansson’s attorney, John Berlinski, explained. According to Variety, once Disney made their rental figures known, the company’s stock rose.
#ScarlettJohansson #BlackWidow #Disney pic.twitter.com/oWYhmt2fPr
— Amaan Akhtar (@iSahilakhtar) July 30, 2021
More information on Black Widow‘s box office performance can be found on Box Office Mojo’s official website.
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