Johansson suing Disney
Lawsuit alleges Black Widow's digital release violates her contract
In an unusually public showdown between a major star and Hollywood's top studio, Scarlett Johansson is suing Disney over the simultaneous digital rollout of Black Widow, saying it breaches her contract to release the film in theatres first.
Johansson filed the lawsuit Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court. She is seeking undisclosed damages in compensation, alleging she lost payments due to the film's availability on the Disney+ Premier platform, where it can be purchased for US$30.
“Disney has enjoyed the benefits of having one of Hollywood's top actresses promote its wholly owned subscription service at no additional cost to Disney, and with the intended effect of taking money out of that actress's own pocket,” the suit says.
Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Marvel film has significantly underperformed at the box office since its release earlier this month, taking in an uncharacteristically low $318 million globally, though it is very difficult to know whether that is due to the simultaneous release or to other factors.
The suit is the most visible salvo in a battle that has been playing out behind the scenes for months, as stars have complained that studios are shortchanging them by not releasing their movies theatrically. Actors' compensation comes partly from incentives tied to box office performance, a concrete figure for a specific film.
While stars and studios fighting over money is nothing new, it is uncommon to see a celebrity who has been in so many of a studio's films take issue with that studio while one of those movies is in release.
Johansson has appeared in nine Marvel movies as Black Widow. Her future with Marvel was already in question given her recent comments that she was finished playing the character, but she had, before Thursday, said she “would love to be able to continue to collaborate with Marvel in other ways.”
The issue over star compensation arose during the pandemic when studios released movies to their own exclusive digital platforms or flipped them to streamers.
Absent box office, these have often seen studios pay out stars under a generous assumption of what the theatrical take would have been. But Black Widow presents a particularly thorny case because it still allows for real-world box office dollars — just, potentially, fewer of them.
Johansson's suit argues Disney is prioritizing subscribers and Wall Street over stars.
“Over the past decade, Scarlett Johansson's work has generated billions of dollars for Marvel Studios, and, by extension, its parent company, Disney,” the suit says. But by undertaking the simultaneous release without involving her in the decision or the profits, the company wished to “keep the revenues for itself while simultaneously growing the Disney+ subscriber base, a proven way to boost Disney's stock price” and also “substantially devalue Ms. Johansson's agreement and thereby enrich itself.”
The suit said Disney and Marvel “largely ignored” her in recent months as her representatives sought to renegotiate her deal.