SCARLETT JOHANSSON ATTACK DISNEY

FOR THE DOUBLE BROADCAST OF BLACK WIDOW

The American actress filed a complaint Thursday in Superior Court in Los Angeles. She believes that the firm has not respected the terms of its contract by choosing to release Black Widow simultaneously on its SVOD platform and in the cinema.

A shortfall of 50 million for the star

Scarlett Johansson, one of Hollywood's highest paid stars, was entitled to a percentage of the proceeds raised by the highly anticipated Marvel film, according to the complaint filed Thursday, July 29. The release of Black Widow on the big screen, scheduled for 2020, had been postponed several times due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The film was finally released in July in theaters, but also on the Disney + streaming platform.

Box office experts believe that the disappointing numbers - by Marvel movie standards - are in part due to its simultaneous streaming release. In three weeks, the film garnered 150 million dollars (126 million euros) of receipts in American theaters. According to Wall Street Journal estimates, Scarlett Johansson could lose nearly $ 50 million.

Scarlett Johansson's lawyers believe that Disney took this opportunity to enrich themselves a little more. “Disney knew that broadcasting on Disney + would save Marvel (and by extension Disney) very large sums. ". Like many Hollywood studios, Disney is increasingly prioritizing streaming as a source of future revenue.

Disney replica bluntly

Disney, which owns Marvel Studios, which specializes in superheroes, retorted that it did not violate the contract and dismissed the lawsuits out of hand. “The complaint is particularly sad and trying because it ignores the horrific and prolonged global impact of the Covid-19 pandemic,” the group said in a statement. The multinational adds that the complaint filed by Scarlett Johansson would have "no value" since the contract would have been respected. She indicates that Disney + had "significantly improved the star's ability to earn additional indemnities in addition to the $ 20 million she has already received, as of that date."

Double distribution called into question

"It is no secret that Disney is releasing films like Black Widow directly on Disney + to attract more subscribers and thus increase the company's share price and invoke the Covid-19 as a pretext" Scarlett Johansson's attorney John Berlinski said in a statement. This is surely not the last time that Hollywood talent has stood up to Disney and made it clear that whatever the company may claim, it has a legal obligation to honor its contracts, ”he added.

Since the start of the pandemic, many studios have indeed adopted this dual broadcast on their SVOD service and in the cinema. This is the case of Warner Bros, who had chosen to offer Wonder-Woman on HBO Max at the time of its release in theaters. Warner had renegotiated many of his contracts with stars and directors, and reportedly paid more than $ 200 million to make up for the shortfall at the box office.

Moreover, the complaint filed by Scarlett Johansson mentions the strategy of the firm and explains that unlike Warner Bros., who spoke with his talents when making this decision, Marvel "largely ignored Ms. Johansson, forcing her therefore to bring this action ”in court (editor's note).

It remains to be seen whether Scarlett Johansson will succeed when the actress is logically no longer under contract with the house.