Scarlett Johansson Sues Disney

[Cactus Jack]

Like many films during the Covid era Black Widow was never going to be as a big a theatrical release as was originally planned. Limits to capacity in cinemas, and in some places cinemas not even being open saw to that.

Disney, who own Marvel Studios, therefore decided to release it at the same time on Disney+ their premium streaming service and it certainly paid off. The theatrical release netted only $20 million but the streaming service brought in $60 million.

https://amp.theguardian.com/film/2021/j ... ng-release

The actress is now suing saying that the contract, negotiated in 2019, anticipated an exclusive run in cinemas and that having the film on the streaming service too hurt revenues - it's a fair point the film grossed $80 million on the opening weekend when it was exclusive in cinemas and suffered a 67% drop off in ticket sales when it was released on to the streaming service.

Like many stars Scarlett had a points deal where she earned a percentage of the films cinema takings and she has claimed Disney breached the good faith element of that contract.

This is all a pretty new area for litigation and it will be interesting to see where it leads.