Scarlett Johansson sues Disney over streaming Black Widow alleging she lost more than $50M
Scarlett Johansson sues Disney over streaming release of Black Widow alleging she lost out on more than $50 MILLION because her deal was based on box office performance
- Johansson, 36, alleges she’s lost more than $50million in earnings as a result of Black Widow being released on Disney+ at the same time as theaters
- The actress filed the lawsuit on Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court
- Claimed she’d been guaranteed the film would have exclusive theatrical release
- Suit says Disney steered viewers to Disney+ at the expense of her bonuses
Black Widow star Scarlett Johansson is suing Disney, claiming the movie’s simultaneous release as a streamer breached her contract.
Johansson, 36, alleges that she lost out of more than $50million as a result of the film being released on streaming service Disney+ at the same time as its debut in theaters, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The actress filed the lawsuit on Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court against Disney, claiming she had been guaranteed that Black Widow would have an exclusive theatrical release, and that her salary was based on the box office performance.
‘Disney intentionally induced Marvel’s breach of the agreement, without justification, in order to prevent Ms. Johansson from realizing the full benefit of her bargain with Marvel,’ the suit said, per the report.
Black Widow star Scarlett Johansson is suing Disney, claiming the movie’s simultaneous release as a streamer breached her contract
Johansson, 36, alleges that she lost out of more than $50million as a result of the film being released on streaming service Disney+ at the same time as its debut in theaters
Black Widow took in $60 million on the streaming platform Disney+ on the opening weekend alone, the company previously announced in its first breakdown of steaming figures for a movie.
The movie, starring Johansson as the cat-suited superspy, was available online to Disney+ subscribers for an extra fee of $29.99 at the same time as its release in traditional theaters.
The movie set a pandemic-era record bringing in $218 million worldwide over opening weekend earlier this month, including the streaming figures, plus $80 million domestic box office and $78 million internationally.
However, the movie’s box-office performance dropped off sharply after the opening weekend, leading some analysts to question whether the Disney+ streaming release was taking a bite out of ticket sales.
Black Widow is on track to be one of the lowest-grossing Marvel movies in theaters after a second-week box office plunge of 67 percent.
Black Widow, starring Scarlett Johansson as the cat-suited superspy, was available online to Disney+ subscribers for an extra fee of $29.99.
Johansson’s lawsuit claims that Disney wanted to steer audiences toward Disney+, ‘where it could keep the revenues for itself while simultaneously growing the Disney+ subscriber base, a proven way to boost Disney’s stock price.’
‘Second, Disney wanted to substantially devalue Ms. Johansson´s agreement and thereby enrich itself,’ the lawsuit said.
According to the complaint, Johansson’s agents tried to renegotiate her contract after learning of the dual-release strategy for Black Widow, but Disney and Marvel were unresponsive.
The suit states that Johansson feared a streaming release as early as 2019, and that Marvel execs assured her that the film would be put out in a traditional theatrical model.
‘We understand that should the plan change, we would need to discuss this with you and come to an understanding as the deal is based on a series of (very large) box office bonuses,’ Marvel Chief Counsel Dave Galluzzi told Johansson’s agents in a March 2019 included in the lawsuit.
Black Widow took in $60 million on the streaming platform Disney+ on the opening weekend alone (file photo)
Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com on Thursday afternoon.
The suit comes at a pivotal moment for the film industry, as more major studios experiment with releasing movies simultaneously online and in theaters.
In response to the pandemic, Warner Bros. decided to release its full slate of movies this year on HBO Max on the same day that they hit theaters.
Parent company AT&T, which owns both Warner Bros. and HBO, appears pleased with the formula and plans to extend it.
Last week, WarnerMedia chief Jason Kilar revealed that in 2022 Warner Bros. will be producing 10 films that will debut on HBO Max the same day they’re released.
Disney also moved toward simultaneous streaming release of movies due to the pandemic.
