Updated July 29, 2021 at 6:00 PM ET
Scarlett Johansson is suing the Walt Disney Co. for releasing her movie Black Widow on streaming and in theaters at the same time.
Black Widow opened in theaters two weeks ago to the biggest box office numbers of the coronavirus pandemic: $80 million on its opening weekend.
After the first weekend, the numbers fell off a cliff. Industry observers suggest that one reason attendance fell so quickly is that Disney had screened the film simultaneously on Disney+, allowing audiences to bypass theaters and watch it at home.
Johannsson is the film's star and also its executive producer. She says in her lawsuit — which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal — that her agreement with Disney's Marvel Entertainment guaranteed an exclusive theatrical release and based her salary in part on the film's box office performance.
Disney responds that the lawsuit has no merit
A Disney spokesperson responded, according to Entertainment Weekly, by saying that 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."
With the pandemic scrambling Hollywood's release patterns, the exclusive theatrical opening — long the industry norm — has lately been threatened.
A few big films — F9, for instance, and the upcoming 007 movie No Time to Die — delayed their premieres so they could go the traditional route. Others, like Pixar's Soul, bypassed theaters entirely and went straight to streaming.
WarnerMedia, to boost its streaming service HBO Max, is releasing all of its titles this year simultaneously in cinemas and on HBO Max. But it renegotiated many of its talent contracts to do so, reportedly paying stars and directors more than $200 million.
Johansson's complaint says her representatives tried to renegotiate her contract but Disney and Marvel were unresponsive.
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