Black Widow, the first feature film we’ve seen in a long time for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, seems to be bringing big problems. The release of the film at the same time as the cinemas via Disney+ caused a huge negative in terms of box office. Scarlett Johansson, who also has a contract with Marvel over box office revenues, decided to sue Disney, saying it caused serious losses on its behalf. Black Widow and the MCU are pretty much at odds.
According to details of the lawsuit filed Thursday in Los Angeles court, the Film Black Widow will receive various Johansson bonuses if it achieves a certain success in theaters. However, the film’s shift to Disney+ led to those rights being stripped away. “Disney knowingly dropped the deal with Marvel. They prevented Mr. Johansson from reaching the full benefit of his agreement with Marvel.” and johansson explained.
Another part of the business was illuminated by reports from Wall Street that Disney+; Scarlett Johansson and her lawyers are pretty ambitious that there’s a massive extortion of rights. The Disney side, on the other hand, struck a slightly harsh tone with a statement suggesting the pandemic. “This file has no value. This case is truly regrettable and ignores the worldwide impact of covid-19.” Disney officials claim they’re doing the right thing.
In fact, this could have been an example for HBO Max, but Warner Bros had made the necessary announcement much earlier and accurately to avoid such lawsuits. Although the filmmakers are uncomfortable with the screenings made through the streaming service, there is no case on that side yet. Contracts on box office revenue are widespread within the MCU, but things started to heat up when a film was first released via Disney+. It’s hard to predict what the outcome of this case will be, but it looks like there’s going to be a big rift between Disney and Scarlett Johanson.
Although the film Black Widow took a big step in terms of post-pandemic box office, it was far from the standard MCU performance. In a normal world, it would be likely to exceed the $750 million threshold. Johansson has a significant loss here, considering it’s currently around $300 million, but a similar loss has occurred for Disney. As a result of this case, in which both sides have good reasons, we can enter a new phase in the battle for broadcast services.