Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson is suing Disney over breaking their contract regarding the release and distribution of the Black Widow movie, according to reports by Variety and The Wall Street Journal on Thursday.
The lawsuit is in regards to Disney deciding to simultaneously release the film in theaters and on the Disney Plus streaming service on the same day earlier this month, which allegedly breached Johansson's contract that stated the film would release exclusively on the big screen.
The film was originally supposed to premiere on May 1, 2020, but had been postponed by 14 months due to the ongoing pandemic.
IGN reported that the issue lies with Johansson's compensation from her work on the film as both an actress and an executive producer, the amount of which she receives solely based on the box office performance of the film in theaters. The lawsuit claims that the move to streaming cost Johansson more than $50 million.
Those with a Disney Plus subscription could watch the film provided that they also purchase Premier Access fee, which is only exclusive to a select few and newer movies on the streaming service.
In the case of Black Widow, viewers are required to pay $30.00 in order to watch the film in addition to their monthly subscription. Disney had already done this with other films on their platform, such as Raya and the Last Dragon and Cruella.
Black Widow releasing on Disney Plus would affect the box office performance of the film in theaters internationally, as many people have already purchased the Premier Access fee on Disney Plus, and any revenue would not go into Johansson's salary.
However, recent box office reports have concluded that even though Black Widow had set a pandemic-era box office record, it is still set to be one of the lowest-grossing movies of the Marvel Cinematic Universe — which even includes the revenues made on Disney Plus.
The lawsuit, which was also filed on Thursday, stated that "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."
Disney responded to Johansson's lawsuit charges, stating that "there is no merit whatsoever to this filing" and that they have "fully complied with Ms. Johansson’s contract.” Disney also stated that the Marvel star received $20 million already for her work and that the release of the film on their streaming service has "enhanced her ability to earn additional compensation" in addition to what she made already. They went on to say that this news is "sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic." An attorney for Johansson, John Berlinski, told Variety that "It’s no secret that Disney is releasing films like Black Widow directly onto Disney Plus to increase subscribers and thereby boost the company’s stock price – and that it’s hiding behind COVID-19 as a pretext to do so."
The Wall Street Journal reported that Johansson's representatives wanted to renegotiate the actress's original contract with Marvel Studios and Disney when learning the film would come out in theaters and streaming on the same day, with the lawsuit stating that Marvel and Disney had not responded to any attempt of renegotiation.Scarlett Johansson is suing Disney over #BlackWidow’s streaming release, alleging a breach of contract. https://t.co/21cZqafF1z pic.twitter.com/TMjINo4vM9
— Variety (@Variety) July 29, 2021
Johansson, who comes from an Ashkenazi Jewish family, has been playing the Avenger since 2010 in Iron Man 2. Her solo film is reportedly the last time Johansson plays the comic book character.
In early 2014, the Israeli company SodaStream hired Johansson as its first global brand ambassador and even starred in its commercial during Super Bowl XLVIII, which caused major controversy, as SodaStream operated a plant in the West Bank.
In 2019, Johansson starred in the satire film Jojo Rabbit, where she plays a supporting role as a young boy's mother who shelters a Jewish girl in Nazi Germany.