Scarlett Johansson and Disney quickly buried the hatchet over the online release of Black Widow, settling a lawsuit between the star and the studio on Thursday.
Johansson, 36, filed her lawsuit in July alleging that she lost out on more than $50million as a result of the film being released on streaming service Disney+ at the same time as its debut in theaters.
The actress claimed she had been guaranteed that Black Widow would have an exclusive theatrical release, and that the bulk of her salary was based on the box office performance, but Disney countered that Johansson was paid $20 million for the film regardless.
‘I am happy to have resolved our differences with Disney,’ said Johansson in a statement. ‘I’m incredibly proud of the work we’ve done together over the years and have greatly enjoyed my creative relationship with the team. I look forward to continuing our collaboration in years to come.’
The Black Widow actress sued Disney in July alleging that the company breached her contract when it offered the movie on streaming at the same it played in theaters
Disney and Scarlett Johansson settled out of court after she sued the company for $50 in lost earning after Black Widow was streamed instead of being exclusively in theaters
Disney Studios chairman Alan Bergman added: ‘I’m very pleased that we have been able to come to a mutual agreement with Scarlett Johansson regarding Black Widow. We appreciate her contributions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and look forward to working together on a number of upcoming projects, including Disney’s Tower of Terror.’
The terms of the deal have not been disclosed however, Entertainment news outlet Deadline put the settlement’s value at ‘more than $40 million,’ citing unnamed sources.
The movie, starring Johansson as the cat-suited superspy Natasha Romanoff, was available online to Disney+ subscribers for an extra fee of $30 at the same time as its release in traditional theaters.
To date, Black Widow has earned $379 million at the worldwide box office.
Disney revealed on July 11 that the film had earned $60 million in purchases via Disney+’s Premier Access paywall.
Until the end of the that month, Johansson had hoped the company would make her an offer but there was no movement and she felt forced to file a suit, according to THR.com.
Johansson’s lawsuit claimed 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.
‘The company not only increased the value of Disney+, but it also intentionally saved Marvel (and thereby itself) what Marvel itself referred to as ‘very large box office bonuses’ that Marvel otherwise would have been obligated to pay Ms. Johansson,’ the suit claimed.
Johansson’s agents tried to renegotiate her contract after learning of the dual-release strategy for Black Widow, but Disney and Marvel did not respond.
‘Why would Disney forgo hundreds of millions of dollars in box office receipts by releasing the picture in theatres at a time when it knew the theatrical market was ‘weak,’ rather than waiting a few months for that market to recover?’ the complaint asked.
‘On information and belief, the decision to do so was made at least in part because Disney saw the opportunity to promote its flagship subscription service using the Picture and Ms. Johansson, thereby attracting new paying monthly subscribers, retaining existing ones, and establishing Disney+ as a must-have service in an increasingly competitive marketplace.’
The suit had stated 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 – however that was prior to the coronavirus pandemic.
‘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 May 2019 email included in the lawsuit.
Johansson’s suit argued that the dual release strategy of Black Widow both in theaters and on Disney+ had reduced her compensation
Disney had said there was ‘no merit’ to the lawsuit, adding that online release of the film ‘significantly enhanced Johansson’s ability to earn additional compensation. Walt Disney Company’s Chief Executive Officer Bob Chapek
At the time of filing in July, Disney blasted Johansson’s claims saying that it had been fair to her.
‘The lawsuit is especially sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic,’ the company said, adding her $20million fee for this film and $15million fee Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
‘Disney has fully complied with Ms. Johansson’s contract,’ the company noted.
‘Furthermore, the release of Black Widow on Disney+ with Premier Access has significantly enhanced her ability to earn additional compensation on top of the $20M she has received to date.
CAA co-chairman Bryan Lourd shot back saying: ‘Disney hamelessly and falsely accused Ms. Johansson of being insensitive to the global COVID pandemic, in an attempt to make her appear to be someone they and I know she isn’t.’
Black Widow was one of a number of big-budget movies including Wonder Woman by Warner Bros and Cruella and Jungle Cruise from Disney that were both streamed and shown in theaters simultaneously.
Like Johansson, multiple stars and directors have pushed back on the shift to streaming service releases because they cut into the much larger profits that come from traditional months-long exclusive theater runs – but Johansson is the only major movie star to sue to date.
Warner Bros. and WarnerMedia was forced to pay more than $200million to talent up front last year to compensate for filmmakers’ loss of traditional profit participation after it chose to release movies on HBO Max at no additional cost to consumers.
In her suit, actress Scarlett Johansson, 36, (pictured) 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
Source: dailymail.co.uk
