Why is Scarlett Johansson suing Disney? Company claims compensation of $20M provided

You may have heard that your favourite Black Widow is suing media conglomerate Disney, read on to why. According to recent reports, Scarlett Johansson filed a lawsuit against Disney on July 29, claiming that the studio breached her contract by releasing the Marvel movie Black Widow on Disney+ at the same time it was released in theaters. The media company has now fired back with a statement about her compensation that implies that the Lucy actress might not have revealed everything. 

What does Scarlett Johansson's lawsuit say?

In the lawsuit filed on July 29 in LA, Scarlett Johansson claimed that the day and date release of Marvel’s Black Widow on Disney+ and in theaters was a breach of her contract. In other words, it asserts that Disney+, Disney's OTT platform, tried to influence "theatregoers" to watch the film on the streaming platform, which allegedly cost Johansson the compensation tied to the film's theatrical revenue. According to Deadline, the suit also claims that Disney+ wanted to "grow its subscriber base and boost its stock price."

Scarlett Johansson's lawsuit also claims, "Disney’s financial disclosures make clear that the very Disney executives who orchestrated this strategy will personally benefit from their and Disney’s misconduct." It alleges that the message to and from Disney's top managements was all about increasing the Disney+ subscriber base, no matter what, and that they would be rewarded, citing equity grants given to Disney's CEO Bob Chapek “totalling 3.8 times his $2.5 million base salary.”

Why is Scarlett Johansson suing Disney? 

Johansson's lawyer, John Berlinski, in a statement said: 

It’s no secret that Disney is releasing films like Black Widow directly onto Disney+ to increase subscribers and thereby boost the company’s stock price – and that it’s hiding behind Covid-19 as a pretext to do so. But ignoring the contracts of the artists responsible for the success of its films in furtherance of this short-sighted strategy violates their rights and we look forward to proving as much in court. This will surely not be the last case where Hollywood talent stands up to Disney and makes it clear that, whatever the company may pretend, it has a legal obligation to honor its contracts.

Keep in mind that Johansson did not sue Marvel, but only The Walt Disney Company claiming that the latter interfered with the contract she had with Marvel, ultimately inducing Marvel to breach it. The suit claims that according to her contract with Marvel, the actress was promised that there would be a "wide theatrical release of the Picture i.e., no less than 1,500 screens." 

In simpler terms, Scarlett Johansson's lawsuit claimed that at the time of the signing of the contract, both parties agreed that the film would release only in theatres for a certain period of time. However, when Marvel announced the day-and-date plans for Black Widow, she was not aware of the decision beforehand and any attempts at negotiation by her lawyers, were ignored by Disney. 

Disney fires back at Scarlett Johansson; makes shocking revelation

The Walt Disney Company struck back after Scarlett Johansson filed a lawsuit over the release of Black Widow. In a surprising statement made by Disney, it was revealed that Johansson received a whopping $20M compensation for the project. A spokesperson for Disney said:

There is no merit whatsoever to this filing. The lawsuit is especially sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Disney has fully complied with Ms. Johansson’s contract and furthermore, the release of Black Widow on Disney+ with Premier Access has significantly enhanced her ability to earn additional compensation on top of the $20M she has received to date.

This revelation about Johansson's compensation was an unusual and surprising move by Disney. The company's reference to COVID-19 implied that the pandemic was one of the main reasons behind Disney's decision for Black Widow's day and date release, because of the limitations on "theatrical moviegoing." 

Scarlett Johansson's net worth; How much money did Scarlett Johansson make with Marvel? 

According to parade.com, Scarlett Johansson’s net worth is estimated at $165 million, bringing in $56 million in 2019 alone. While exact numbers for years of her Marvel stints are not yet available, the outlet claims that she made the same amount of money as her male co-stars, Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth for the first two Avengers films. 

According to Forbes, Johansson made about $14 million upfront for Avengers: Endgame, plus approximately 5% of the box office profits. Since Endgame made a whopping $2.8 billion, it would amount to about $35 million. In addition, it's estimated that Johansson made $15 million upfront for Black Widow, the same that Evans and Hemsworth each made for their most recent leading solo Marvel films. However, Disney's recent $20M compensation might have altered her bank balance in a big way. 

IMAGE - AP