Via wdwnt.com
Though Disney+ subscriber growth reportedly stalled this year, it has now reached 116 million subscribers, surpassing the expected 113 million.
Disney+ continues to grow with original shows, including those set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and film releases. Although, Scarlett Johansson is currently suing Disney regarding the Disney+ release of “Black Widow.”
One of the Marvel original series, “Loki,” was one of the most-streamed programs across all platforms during Q3.
Halloween is drawing near, as can be seen in the parks with the arrivals of Autumnal buntings, pumpkins scattered around and Mickey pumpkin wreaths on the light poles of Main Street, U.S.A. And another Halloween-themed Disney treat is on the way as well — Muppets Haunted Mansion, coming to Disney+ this Fall. As Walt Disney Imagineering is celebrating today’s anniversary of The Haunted Mansion opening at Disneyland, their official Instagram has shared the first look at the upcoming Muppets special.
The first image shows Gonzo the Great and Pepe the King Prawn walking down the Corridor of Doors in the mansion, dressed in their black tie best. The second image shows Kermit and Miss Piggy dressed up as each other, looking at a phone.
Via wdwnt.com
There has been quite a bit of back-and-forth between Disney and Scarlett Johansson, who plays Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The star recently filed a lawsuit against Disney over her most recent outing as the super spy in this month’s “Black Widow.” And after more than a week of responses in the media and in legal filings, Disney is now seeking arbitration according to the Wall Street Journal.
Johansson’s lawsuit alleges that by releasing the film on Disney+ simultaneously with the theatrical release, “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.” Johansson reportedly took a partial back-end deal, in which her salary for the film was derived from the box office sales which, the lawsuit alleges, were undercut by the Disney+ sales.
After multiple delays in release due to the COVID-19 pandemic shuttering theaters nationwide, it was announced in March that “Black Widow” would be one of several films pushed through to the Disney+ streaming service as a Premiere Access title. Despite an $80 million opening in the US and Canada and $60 million garnered from Disney+ sales, the film still sits at $359 million worldwide. With $174 million total domestic take as of press time, this makes “Black Widow” the 2nd lowest-earning marvel film ever, behind “The Incredible Hulk.”
In the Wall Street Journal, Disney released figures touting that Johansson had already earned $20 million from her deal. Previously, Disney attorney Daniel Petrocelli had called the lawsuit a lost cause because the contract is iron clad. “We treated Disney Premier Access (revenue) like box office for the purposes of the bonus requirements in the contract,” Petrocelli told Variety. “No amount of public pressure can change or obscure the explicit contractual commitments. The written contract is clear as a bell.”
Disney’s arbitration would make the case confidential and the details would not become publicly available even after the case ends, which Johansson’s lawyer John Berlinski decried as Disney’s attempt to “hide its misconduct from the public in a confidential arbitration,” according to the Wall Street Journal article.
“It’s time to play the music; it’s time to light the lights.” It’s time to debut the logo for The Muppet Studio tonight! (Well, today, but that didn’t work with the song.) The Muppets took to Twitter to show off a shiny new logo. Let’s take a look!
“The Muppets Studio has gone through several logos over the years, but we didn’t feel that the current logo really represented who we are as a studio today and the direction we’re headed. Now that we have projects that originated fully from our team, we felt it was the right time to make the change to represent who we are now. This has been in the works for quite some time, and we’re so excited to get it out into the world,” Muppets Studio Vice President Leigh Slaughter said in an interview with ToughPigs, a Muppets fansite.
Watch the reveal video below.
Slaughter also confirmed that the logo may change, similarly to how the castle logo for Disney films changes. “As you know, our next project – which I’m very excited about and cannot wait for you to see – is “Muppets Haunted Mansion.” You’ll see the new logo attached to that special is a customized way that evokes the spirit of that particular project.”
The new logo will be used on new Muppets projects, with Muppets Haunted Mansion coming to Disney+ this fall.
Earlier, we reported that “Black Widow” star Scarlett Johansson had filed a lawsuit against Disney over the film’s release. Disney has responded to the lawsuit publicly, according to Variety.
The lawsuit alleges that by releasing the film on Disney+ simultaneously with the theatrical release, “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.”
“There is no merit whatsoever to this filing,” said the statement by Disney. “The lawsuit is especially sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Disney went on to say that Scarlett Johansson has already made $20 million from the film and stands to earn more through the digital release. They also deny any breach of contract.