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Celebrity

30th Jul 2021

Scarlett Johansson is suing Disney over Black Widow’s release

Ellen Fitzpatrick

She’s not impressed.

Scarlett Johansson has decided to sue Walt Disney Co after her latest film Black Widow was released on Disney+, claiming a breach of contract.

The latest instalment of the Marvel franchise was released in cinemas at the same time as the streaming service, which Scarlett claims was not in her contract.

Disney has responded saying there is “no merit” when it comes to these claims, saying the company had completely complied with the contract.

Scarlett claims that due to the dual release strategy, she has received reduced compensation as the film’s income is now only partly based on the box office but was meant to be an exclusive cinema release.

Disney said in a statement that the release of the movie on its streaming platform had “significantly enhanced her (Johansson’s) ability to earn additional compensation on top of the $20 million (€16m) she has received to date.”

The film was released two weeks ago in cinemas, but you can see it on Disney+ for an additional charge of €26. Disney has done this with numerous film releases since the streaming service began.

They opted to release films here as well as in cinemas due to the pandemic as many cinemas were closed worldwide.

Scarlett is now claiming that the company wants to steer its audience towards Disney+ so they could “keep the revenues for itself while simultaneously growing the Disney+ subscriber base, a proven way to boost Disney’s stock price.”

She also claimed in legal papers that “Disney wanted to substantially devalue Ms Johansson’s agreement and thereby enrich itself.”

As well as this, they say that the actress’s representatives tried to resolve the issue with Disney but were “largely ignored.”