"Black Widow" sued Disney: "Black Widow" was released simultaneously on streaming media and breached the contract

Black Widow has grossed $319 million worldwide. According to foreign media reports, Scarlett Johansson sued Disney in the Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday, claiming that Disney's simultaneous streaming of Black Widow (which was released in North American theaters and Disney+ on July 9) violated her contract.

The lawsuit states: Johansson's agreement with Disney's Marvel Entertainment was to guarantee the exclusive theatrical distribution of "Black Widow", and her salary was largely based on the film's theatrical box office. Disney intentionally caused Marvel to breach the contract without justifiable reasons to prevent Johansson from realizing the full benefits she could have received under the terms of her negotiations with Marvel.

The lawsuit states that as early as 2019, Black Widow's agent contacted Marvel and requested that the film be released only in theaters. Marvel's chief legal counsel also stated that it would only be released in theaters, "If the plan changes, we will negotiate and reach an agreement with you, after all, the box office dividends involved are not a small amount." But later, when Disney decided to release "Black Widow" on streaming media simultaneously, it did not try to rewrite Johansson's contract. "Disney and Marvel ignored Ms. Johansson, essentially forcing her to file this lawsuit."

According to people familiar with the matter, the simultaneous release of Black Widow on Disney+ cost Johnson more than $50 million. Box office dividends were damaged because streaming media would reduce the box office in theaters (Disney+ users need to pay an additional $29.99 to watch Premier Access movies, and Disney reported that the film's streaming media revenue in the first weekend was $60 million), and it would lead to piracy, affecting legitimate revenue.

The report believes that the recent behavior of major film companies to simultaneously release movies on streaming media will have a huge financial impact on actors and producers. They do not want the growth of streaming platforms to come at the cost of affecting their own interests.

A Disney spokesperson also issued a statement regarding Scarlett Johansson's lawsuit: "This lawsuit is meaningless and regrettable because it callously ignores the terrible and long-lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the world." Disney also stated that it had complied with the contract with Ms. Johansson and that she had received $20 million in compensation.