Well, these days it seems like there is never a dull moment in the Mouse House.
Scarlett Johansson, the star of Black Widow, is suing The Walt Disney Company. Johansson alleges that her contract was breached when Disney decided to drop Black Widow on Disney+ Premier Access. Johansson was promised an exclusive theatrical release and her paycheck was largely tied to the expected box office.
Disney+ Premier Access is Disney’s streaming premium video-on-demand that charges Disney+ subscribers a fee of $29.99 if they want to watch Black Widow at home on Disney+. Black Widow earned $60 million on Disney+ Premier Access during its opening weekend.
The lawsuit stated that when Johansson signed her contract with Marvel, Black Widow was guaranteed a theatrical release. The lawsuit alleges that the streaming option would sway away repeat moviegoers.
For context, Disney held off Black Widow as long as it could. They released it in theaters right when things were looking promising for moviegoing. The film had a great opening weekend despite the pandemic circumstances. Disney added the Premier Access option as a safety net. Although that safety net cost Disney repeat viewings at the theaters and more revenue. Black Widow was pirated at a high rate because of it dropping on Disney+ on the same day.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the suit says that the move to Disney+ Premier Access cost Johansson a projected $50 million.
Johansson taking on Disney will be a lawsuit to watch. This will be a big story in the coming months as Disney could continue to shift films around. The next film up that is doing a theatrical and Disney+ Premier Access release is Jungle Cruise which premieres tomorrow.
If we have a story from the WSJ a month from now saying The Rock and Emily Blunt are suing them. We know Disney and Disney+ Premier Access will be in deep trouble.
Zach Perilstein is the Editor-in-Chief of the Boardwalk Times
