This weekend saw the latest round of the fight between Scarlett Johansson, a long-time Marvel Cinematic Universe star, and Disney's parent company Marvel Studios. Disneys lawyers filed a motion for private arbitration to resolve the dispute over Black Widows profits rather than having a public trial.
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Joha ns childrens lawsuit alleges that Marvel promised Black Widow a theatrical-only release. However, Disney forced the studio into making the film available on Disney+ the same day as the theatrical release. Johanssons lawyer claims that this cannibalized the movie's box office profits and cost the actor millions of dollars in bonuses. It was also in violation her contract with Marvel.
Disney's motion refutes that claim and provides some contract details (courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter). Disney claims that Black Widow was shown on more than 9000 screens in the U.S., fulfilling its obligation to screen the film on at least 1,500 screens (again Johansson asserts it had been exclusive). According to the most recent filing, Black Widow had grossed more then $367 million worldwide in box-office receipts, and more than $125million in streaming and download retail receipts as of August 15.
Disney says that Black Widow is comparable to other Marvel Cinematic Universe films. He claims that the film's opening weekend took more than many other Marvel Cinematic Universe films like Ant-Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and Guardians of the Galaxy.
It is true that this statement is accurate, but it overlooks the huge, unusual drop in Black Widow's attendance between weeks one to two of its release. The $80 million opening weekend profit fell to $26.3 million, and the profits from Black Widow dropped to only $26.3 million. Johanssons lawyers claim that Disney placed the highly anticipated Black Widow movie onto Disney+ to drive subscribers and not build its box office. Several theater owners associations have also accused Disney.
Johanssons Marvel contract details have not been disclosed yet so we don't know if Disney actually honored it. It is unlikely that Disney will come out of this situation smelling like a rose, considering how Disney tried to shame Johansson immediately after she was sued. She announced her $20 million base pay for the film, and also accused her of not caring about pandemics. This might be evident from the fact that Disney wants to have the suit moved to private arbitration within a trial. To be fair, Disney has also stated that this is part of her contact.
To be fair to Johansson, Disney has a long and long history of trying not to pay those who made the company $122 billion. The Black Widow is a Marvel female hero for knowing her worth.
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