Scarlett Johansson’s ‘Black Widow’ paycheck is tied to box-office performance. She’s suing Disney for releasing it simultaneously on streaming.
Scarlett Johansson is suing Disney after the company simultaneously released her film “Black Widow” on its Disney+ streaming platform and in theatres, according to court documents shared with Insider.
More actors need to do that as well.
Johansson argues that Disney violated her contract, potentially bilking her out of significant income, because her salary was largely based on box-office performance. A source told the paper the actor could be missing out on $50 million.
$50 Million!
Disney+ and other streaming services took the unprecedented step and debuted movies at the same time online and in theatres in 2020 because of the pandemic.
…
But the move prompted backlash from the filmmaking world, including from directors Christopher Nolan and Patty Jenkins, who helmed the “Wonder Woman 1984” project. Many speculated how traditional filmmaking could be affected by releasing high-budget, high-quality movies online.
By limiting the profitability of a movie. Many people, from top stars to directors to producers, have their contracts TIED to its box-office totals.
By moving the films to streaming so quickly, it undermines their theatrical revenue… and the paycheques to all those people (and movie theaters)… deliberately!
.
