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.
Big news coming out of the film industry today… and it involves a lawsuit again Disney. Marvel’s newest film, Black Widow, recently debuted on both Disney+ Premier Access and in theaters on the same day. Now, the star of the film, Black Widow herself – Scarlett Johansson – is suing Disney for breach of contract. Apparently, the simultaneous release of the film in theaters and on Disney+ was not part of the originally plan.
As reported by Wall Street Journal: Scarlett Johansson, star of the latest Marvel movie “Black Widow,” filed a lawsuit Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court against Disney, alleging her contract was breached when the media giant released the film on its Disney+ streaming service at the same time as its theatrical debut. Ms. Johansson said in the suit that her agreement with Disney’s Marvel Entertainment guaranteed an exclusive theatrical release, and her salary was based in large part on the box-office performance of the film. “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.
“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,” said John Berlinski, an attorney at Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP who represents Ms. Johansson. According to the complaint, Ms. Johansson’s representatives sought to renegotiate her contract after learning of the dual-release strategy for “Black Widow,” which she has said is her ninth and last Marvel movie. Disney and Marvel were unresponsive, the suit said. The decision to put the movie on Disney+ is projected to cost Ms. Johansson more than $50 million, a person familiar with details of her contract claimed.
Disney’s newest live-action film Cruella tells the story of how this evil villain came to be. Fans have rushed to the theatres to see this film as it hit high numbers at the Box Office over the weekend.
Cruella grossed $21.3 million, Disney said, and an estimated $26.4 million over the four-day weekend, placing it in the number two spot behind A Quiet Place Part 2, which earned an impressive $58.8 million.
The team knew they would be coming in second to A Quiet Place Part 2:
“This is a great result for Cruella. It’s not just about opening weekend for family films, and we always knew we’d be No. 2. We’re in great, great shape for a long run.“Tony Chambers, Disney theatrical distribution chief
The numbers are strong as you have to consider the film also released on Disney+ Premier Access for an additional charge of $29.99 cutting into the box office numbers.
Fans patiently waiting for the new Jungle Cruise movie will now be able to take the journey at home, as star Dwayne Johnson announced the film will be available on Disney+ Premier Access beginning July 30th, the same day it docks in theaters.
Johnson made the announcement ahead of Disney’s second quarter earnings call.
As the world slowly recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney has made Premier Access available on several of its upcoming films for Disney+ subscribers not yet ready to head back to movie theaters. The one-time fee allows subscribers to view the movie at the same time it’s in theaters for several months before it becomes available for all Disney+ subscribers. Jungle Cruise is just the latest to join the lineup, with Premier Access already announced for Cruella and Marvel Studios’ Black Widow, both releasing later this summer.
Following the announcement that Marvel Studios’ Black Widow will be released both in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access on July 9th, theater owners became upset with the decision and now the Chief Executive of AMC Theatres is speaking out.
Black Widow‘s release was pushed back to July 2021 from May 2020 as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, making it one of the summer’s most anticipated movies. The latest Marvel film will also be released on Disney+ Premier Access for a one-time fee of $30 on the same day it’s released in theaters.
According to The Wall Street Journal, theater owners want to secure better terms from Disney, such as a higher share of box-office revenue or a chance to show Black Widow exclusively due to the release decision. However, the ability to fight the company might be undercut by the need to bring moviegoers back into theater seats after long closures and limited capacities.
Some theater owners were already left fuming over Disney’s decision to release Raya and the Last Dragon in theaters and on Disney+ last month, and now the Black Widow decision adds more fuel to the fire.
AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. Chief Executive Adam Aron spoke out in regard to the Disney+ release of Black Widow, “We haven’t made any threats [but] it is widely known that AMC has threatened not to play movies if we could not find business terms that we found acceptable.”
Aron is referring to when AMC Theatres refused to show Universal films in the wake of the on-demand release of Trolls: World Tour last year, stating that “This policy is not aimed solely at Universal out of pique or to be punitive in any way, it also extends to any movie maker who unilaterally abandons current windowing practices absent good faith negotiations between us, so that they as distributor and we as exhibitor both benefit and neither are hurt from such changes.” This led to a multi-year deal between the two parties, including AMC Theatres receiving a percentage of revenues from digital releases.
These tensions highlight the changing dynamics between film studios and theaters as the COVID-19 pandemic pushed some cinema chains into bankruptcy, and as consumers and studios turned to streaming entertainment at home. Disney+ has recently reached the milestone of 100 million subscribers, and the number will keep growing as more content is added to the streaming platform.
