It’s no secret that Scarlett Johansson is one of the household names in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. First debuting in Iron Man 2 (2010), she has spent over a decade with the franchise and enjoyed a star spot as one of the original six Avengers in 2012. So, it has been a source of contention that it took Disney over 10 years to offer their female star a leading role in her own movie, especially as the Iron Man and Captain America franchises each have three instalments and with Thor 4 on the horizon. But leading off the success of 2019’s female-led Captain Marvel, and perhaps reeling from killing off her character Black Widow in Infinity War the year prior, Disney was ready to take the plunge and set Johannson up with her own movie. Black Widow only hit cinemas this month and yet it already seems that the star has been shafted by Disney’s own streaming service, Disney+.
First reported by The Wall Street Journal, Johannson filed her lawsuit with Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday 29th July, just weeks after the movie first hit cinemas. So, what have Disney done to provoke such a response? In short, they’ve diverted sales away from box office tickets toward their home streaming service, Disney+. Shockingly, Disney were charging customers up to FOUR TIMES the cost of a cinema ticket (£19.99 compared with £4.99) to view the movie at home on the premiere Disney+ service, the premiere prices are paid on top of regular Disney+ subscription fees.
This set-up may have proven beneficial to Johannson. As the titular star of the movie, you’d think that the fourfold revenue the production is receiving would find its way into Starlett’s pockets. Alas, Disney were careful to stipulate in Johannson’s contract that none of the Disney+ proceeds go to her. Instead, her income from the film comes entirely from box office sales.
So, the source of Scarlett’s ire – and the basis of her lawsuit – is quite easy to discern. She claims that she has lost income due to the streaming service disrupting box office sales. The WSJ reported that the missing revenue ran to the tune of $50 million, so it’s not a figure to sniff at. The suit filed to LA’s Court asserts that “Disney intentionally induced Marvel’s breach of the agreement, without justification, in order to prevent Ms. Johansson from realizing the full benefit of her bargain with Marvel.”
The lawsuit will undoubtedly last a while, so we are unlikely to see a conclusion any time soon. Regardless, it is not difficult to see why Scarlett has taken an issue with such a huge financial loss, especially coming at a time when cinema attendance is at an all-time low following the pandemic and lockdown restrictions which ran intermittently throughout 2020. We can only hope that the lawsuit results in justice for Scarlett, and that a precedent is set which allows starring actors to gain equally from their films. Until then, stay tuned and check back with us here at Double Tapped for more information as it becomes available!