Disney dismisses Scarlett Johansson’s complaint against “Black Widow” streaming media Reuters

Lisa Richwine

Los Angeles (Reuters)-Scarlett Johansson, the star of the Marvel superhero movie “Black Widow,” sues Walter Disney (New York Stock Exchange:) The company claimed on Thursday that the company violated her contract when it was showing the film while it was shown in theaters.

Disney said that the lawsuit had “no basis at all,” saying it was in line with her contract. It added in a statement that the release of the film on its streaming platform “has greatly enhanced her (Johnson)’s ability to earn extra compensation beyond the $20 million she has received so far.”

Johnson filed a lawsuit in the Los Angeles Superior Court, claiming that “Black Widow”‘s double-screening strategy reduced her compensation, which was partly based on the box office revenue that should have been exclusively shown in movie theaters.

“Black Widow” was released in theaters on July 9, Disney+ streaming service charges $30. During the coronavirus pandemic, Disney has been testing the hybrid model of certain movies as the company tries to upgrade its streaming service when many movie theaters around the world are closed.

Johnson’s lawsuit filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court stated that Disney hopes to direct viewers to Disney+, “where it can retain revenue for itself while increasing the Disney+ user base, which is an effective way to boost Disney’s stock price. .”

“Secondly, Disney wants to drastically devalue Ms. Johnson’s agreement in order to enrich itself,” the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit requires unspecified damages to be determined at the trial.

As media companies try to attract subscribers to build their streaming services by providing premium programming, the result may have a wide-ranging impact in Hollywood.

Disney’s statement stated that the lawsuit was “particularly sad and painful due to its cold disregard of the terrible and long-term global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“Black Widow” is the story of a Russian assassin who turned into an avenger. The box office revenue in the United States and Canada during its premiere weekend was $80 million. Disney said that the movie also generated $60 million in revenue through the purchase of Disney+.

Johnson played this role in nine Marvel movies.

Other film studios, including Warner Bros. of AT&T (NYSE:), have negotiated to pay actors and other people involved in the movies. These movies were originally only planned to be shown in theaters, but also during the pandemic. Provide streaming services.

Johnson’s lawsuit alleges that her representative had approached Disney to resolve the issue, but was “basically ignored”.

The actress topped the list of the world’s highest paid actresses by Forbes Magazine in 2018 and 2019. Johnson’s pre-tax income from June 2018 to June 2019 totaled $56 million.

Disney is also offering the same-day streaming version of “Jungle Cruise” from Friday, an action-adventure movie starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt.