Famous Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson is suing Disney for breaching a contract over streaming the Black Widow movie. The superhero movie is currently running in cinemas as well as the streaming platform, Disney+. Owing to this, the Hollywood actress has lost many millions of revenue.
As a result, Scarlett Johansson has filed a case against Disney, which owns Marvel Studios. As per a report, Scarlett Johansson has lost 50 million dollars due to the release of Black Widow on Disney+.
Disney has not commented on the lawsuit filed by the Hollywood star in Las Angeles Superior court. Black Widow has set a box office record for the Covid-19 pandemic.
Over the first weekend, the superhero film had got a gross collection of $218m. Black Widow gained $80m in ticket sales in North America and $78m internationally. Besides, the Marvel film has collected around $60m in Disney+ Premier Access rentals,
Breach of Contract Leaves Scarlett Angry
Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson has expressed that Disney promised to release Black Widow only in theaters. She says it broke the promise stated in the contract and led to the loss of her potential earnings.
And it has led the actress in an angry state, due to which she has filed a lawsuit in Las Angeles Superior Court. Black Widow was scheduled to release before the pandemic, but it couldn’t happen.
So, Marvel Studios promised Johansson to make Black Widow a “theatrical release”. Before the pandemic, all Hollywood films would release first at the cinema. Then, after a wait of 3 months, they would show up on streaming channels.
Since people are not visiting theatres due to the fear of Covid-19 contraction, major studios are considering both cinema releases and streaming in many ways. For example, Warner Bros will also release its new film, The Suicide Squad, next month in cinemas and on HBO.
Disney Aims to Increase its Subscribers
John Berlinski, Johansson’s attorney, said Disney aims to increase its subscribers by releasing major films like Black Widow on its streaming platform. Besides, it is also looking to increase its share value in the market.
Johansson’s lawyer further said that Disney is trying to manipulate Hollywood stars by giving a pretext of Covid-19. Moreover, he said it is not going to be the last case on this subject.
Many stars would face this issue no matter what Disney may pretend or explain. It is a legal obligation of the company to fulfill the legal requirements of stars as mentioned in its contracts.
