There is no advantage at all

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If Scarlett Johansson’s lawsuit against Disney over the studio’s double release of Black Widow in theaters and on Disney+ at the same time didn’t cause enough uproar on its own, the company responded with a harsh response, calling the actress “cruel” and even gone to unprecedented lengths in revealing how much money the actress made from the film to make their point.

In the lawsuit filed today, Johansson alleged that showing the film to Disney+ breached her contract and caused a loss of theatrical revenue it would have had if the film had been shown only in cinemas.

RELATED: Disney sued by Scarlett Johansson over Black Widow Disney + Streaming Release

A spokesperson for The Walt Disney Company said: “There is absolutely no merit to this file. The lawsuit is particularly distressing and disturbing in its callous disregard for the horrific and spanning global effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Disney has fully complied with it” Widow on Disney+ with Premier Access significantly enhances its ability to earn additional compensation in addition to the $20 million it has received so far.”

The simultaneous release of Black Widow on Disney + Premier Access was Disney’s largest release using the day and date strategy, although it wasn’t alone in that, Warner Bros. Many of their big films like Godzilla vs Kong have aired on HBO Max for a rental fee from the same date the movie is shown in cinemas. The necessity of letting people rent movies at home rather than forcing them to go to the theater was born out of public fear of being pushed back to the confines of the cinema screen while the Covid pandemic continued to spread across the world.

The lawsuit alleges that Disney used the film to build its streaming service subscriber numbers and give its stock price a boost out of the pandemic, but says the company’s move was at the expense of Scarlett Johansson whose “compensation would be largely ‘based on box office receipts’.” The actress received a promise that the film would be a stage show, which was broken.

In a statement, Johansson’s attorney, John Berlinsky, said, “It’s no secret that Disney is releasing movies like Black Widow directly on Disney+ to increase subscribers and thus increase the company’s stock price — and that it’s hiding behind Covid-19 as an excuse to do so. But ignoring the artist contracts responsible for the success of Her films in furthering this short-sighted strategy infringe their rights and we look forward to proving this in court. This will certainly not be the last case where Hollywood talent stands up to Disney and makes clear that, no matter what the company may claim, it has a legal obligation to honor its contracts.”

With Disney out to fight and on record to disclose the actress’s $20 million salary thus far, a move normally unheard of in the underground movie-making world, it’s clear that the House of Mouse won’t take this one lying around. . This news arrives by deadline.

Themes: Black Widow, Disney, Disney Plus

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