Now they’re friends again. Scarlett Johansson has come to an agreement with the Disney group in the dispute over the release of the superhero film “Black Widow”. At the end of July, the actress filed a lawsuit against the film studio: Because “Black Widow” was also available on the Disney Plus streaming service at the same time as it was released, she was deprived of the cinema revenues that were guaranteed to her proportionately according to the contract. Double-digit million amounts escaped her through this decision Disney. It is not known exactly how the agreement reached out of court and behind closed doors looks like. The claims in Johansson’s lawsuit and by the agency Creative Artists are said to have been between 50 and 80 million dollars. “Black Widow” has grossed almost $ 380 million worldwide so far, 125 million of which are said to have been earned through streaming.
In the course of the lawsuit, the dispute between the group and Johansson briefly escalated, Disney’s attorney accused the actress of “a highly orchestrated PR campaign” against Disney. With the lawsuit, she is not taking any account of the effects of the corona pandemic.
Johansson is said to have received a $ 20 million fee – so money worries were not the reason for their lawsuit
This hit not only the studios but also the cinemas particularly hard. Disney’s decision to show a potential blockbuster right from the start with its own streaming service cost the cinemas additional viewers. In addition, other studios such as Warner had also opted for this recycling route. Industry experts therefore suspected not only financial reasons behind the lawsuit. Johansson is said to have already received a $ 20 million fee for the film and is considered one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood.
The Disney group has been known for years for collecting more money from cinemas and other parts of the distribution chain than other distributors. Because of its outstanding market position, Disney can afford that. Individual cinema operators had films from Disney studios, which also include the Marvel and Star Wars franchises, boycotted in the past. As a rule, a good half of the ticket price of cinema tickets goes to the film rental company, at Disney it has always been a few percent more than usual in the past. Cinema operators had to take part – or could not show the film.
It is unlikely that the agreement between Johansson and Disney would also include more consideration for cinema operators. Perhaps the lawsuit made the corporation, industry and the public at least a little more aware of the competition between cinemas and streaming services – and the question of the extent to which corporations can simply decide on the evaluation of their works without the artists having a say.
Incidentally, Disney wants to continue working with Johansson, as Alan Bergman, head of Disney Studios, announced on Thursday. Johansson is already planned for the adventure film “Tower of Terror”. The actress also announced that she was looking forward to further collaboration.