Yesterday afternoon there was one of the news that undoubtedly shocked the entertainment world. Scarlett Johansson, who played Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, was suing Disney for allegedly unfulfilled contract conditions.
This was announced by The Wall Street Journal, a medium that reported that the actress decided to sue the company before the Superior Court of Los Angeles, alleging that her contract was broken when Disney decided to release her latest film simultaneously in cinemas and streaming.
The actress said that within her contract it was guaranteed that the premiere of the new Black Widow film would be exclusive in theaters, and that her salary would be based largely on the film’s box office earnings.
“Disney intentionally induced Marvel to breach the agreement, without justification, to prevent Ms. Johansson from realizing the full benefit of her deal with Marvel,” the lawsuit says.
Given this, John Berlinski, a lawyer representing Johansson, assured that this case could be the beginning of a dozen future lawsuits that Disney could face for the same reasons.
“This surely won’t be the last case where Hollywood talent takes on Disney and makes it clear that whatever the company is trying to do, it has a legal obligation to honor its contracts,” he said.
Shortly after, Disney launched its response to the protagonist of Black Widow, focusing on the actress’s “indifference” to the pandemic period and the effects it has caused throughout the world and in all labor sectors, including cinema. :
“This complaint is especially sad and distressing in its cruel disregard for the horrible, prolonged and global effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Disney has fully honored the Johansson contract. What’s more, the premiere of Black Widow on Disney + with premium access has significantly expanded its ability to earn additional compensation above the $ 20 million it has received to date, “the company said in a statement collected by some media. Americans.
Black Widow is the first film that Marvel has released since the beginning of the pandemic, which also marks the goodbye of Scarlett Johansson from the saga after 10 years of being part of the team.
In its first week alone, the film managed to raise $ 80 million in the United States and Canada, making Black Widow the best theatrical release since the arrival of the pandemic.
Far from these attacks and counterattacks, the truth is that for many the question to be resolved is what Johansson could gain in case of winning against Disney and if this figure is worth enough to, without a doubt, damage the relationship with a company which is a crucial part of the actress’s success.
Now the figure has been released by Forbes, a medium that, citing sources close to Hollywood, assure that in case of winning the lawsuit, the Marvel actress could receive more than 50 million dollars in lost bonus payments.
At this point it is fair to say that “Black Widow” is the highest paid woman in the Marvel Universe. With her appearance in Avengers: Endgame in 2019, the actress would have received a guarantee of 15 million dollars that increased to 35 million dollars considering it is remembered at the box office for the film.
This positioned Johansson as the highest-earning actress of that year with nearly $ 56 million.
Although the debate about whether or not the demand is worth it can have many points of view, the only thing that remains clear is that streaming premieres simultaneously can bring problems beyond the adaptation of the format for production houses, with what now are more points that must be evaluated to follow this trend.