Scarlett Johansson took to suing Disney for Black Widow’s contract breach on July 29. Updates on the front say that the actor is shocked by Disney’s response, while insiders state that Disney new CEO Bob Chapek is one to blame.
Last week, the film industry woke up to the startling news of Scarlett Johansson suing Disney for breach of contract. Since the actor would be paid based off Black Widow’s success on the box office, the statement lined how Johansson would suffer a loss of approximately 50 million USD due to the movie being released on Disney+ on the very same day.
Disney immediately retaliated with a statement tainting Johansson saying that by raising a lawsuit the actress was being insensitive of the world’s current pandemic state of affairs. Johansson’s lawyer was quick to point out that Disney was simply using the pandemic as an excuse to avert eyes from the fact that they had indeed breached Johansson’s terms.
This is also evidenced through the revelation that Disney had decided to stream Black Widow on the same day as its theatrical release, way back in 2019 when the Covid-19 pandemic did not exist. And even in that timeline when Johansson had voiced out her concerns, the streamer said the results would not affect its theatrical release.
As Black Widow’s box office sales dropped immensely in only its second week (viewed alongside Disney’s rise in subscriptions), one cannot deny that Johansson’s concerns and now her consequent lawsuit are valid.
The fact that the blow-out turned out to be so public and nasty does show mishandling from Disney’s side. Johansson herself, as reported by The Wrap, was shocked upon reading Disney’s response. She and her team have decided to not elaborate further. But we have a feeling more will be said in the court of law.
According to the same report, multiple insiders have pointed fingers at one Bob Chapek, who only as recently as February 2020 became Disney’s CEO. Chapek, unlike previous CEO Bob Iger, has not had experience dealing with creative talent. His first stint has gone horribly wrong. As one insider says, “He didn’t think it would blow up in his face.”
And indeed, Disney may have dug a huge hole for themselves, including facing the wrath of Marvel’s creative head Kevin Feige and a possible lawsuit from Cruella’s Emma Stone for her movie’s simultaneous release on Disney+ (as reported in Matt Bellonis’ exclusive newsletter, What I’m Hearing…)
It is known that HBO Max too had previously faced such backlash when it decided to premier all of its 2021 released simultaneously on the streamer. But the one juncture where the two companies differ and where Warner Bros played smarter was by compensating its talent enough to ensure lawsuits would not be filed.
When Disney could’ve used a similar remedy, it is unsure why it didn’t. A management fault or an overestimation of its power, whatever it may be, it surely has backfired.
We are yet to know the fate of this watershed lawsuit. Stay tuned for more updates!
About Black Widow
Black Widow is an upcoming American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is intended to be the 24th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
Directed by Cate Shortland and written by Eric Pearson, the movie stars Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff alongside Florence Pugh, David Harbour, O-T Fagbenle, William Hurt, Ray Winstone, and Rachel Weisz.
It will be the first film in Phase Four of the MCU, and was delayed three times from an original May 2020 release date due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Disney confirms Marvel Studios’ Black Widow will release on Disney+ for no extra cost to existing subscribers after its Premier Access release, October 6.
The film follows Natasha Romanoff as she confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.
Source: TheWrap
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