The bombshell lawsuit between Scarlett Johannson and Disney over Black Widow may now be settled, but the aftershock of the situation still rings throughout the entire film industry. Filmmaker Joe Russo, who has worked with Disney before on Avengers: Endgame, recently commented on the matter and the uncertainty that lies ahead.
Johansson sued Disney this past July in the Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging that her contract with the studio stipulated that Black Widow would be released only in theatres first. This strategy would maximize the film's earnings potential, as digital releases have been shown to generate lesser profits than theatrical releases. When Disney decided to move forward with a theatrical and digital split release for Black Widow, they breached her contract and caused Johansson to lose out on a much bigger payday, almost $50 million by some estimates.
During an interview with Variety, Russo said that he was glad Johansson and Disney reached a settlement. However, he also noted that there is currently a lot of tension going on behind the scenes due to the disruption the lawsuit caused. Disney's move with Black Widow not only increased the value of its Disney Plus streaming service but also spared the company from having to fork up a hefty box office bonus to Johansson and her co-actors. At this point in time, Black Widow has earned $379 million at the global box office, $60 million of which was generated through Disney Plus Premier Access at $30 per subscription.
Russo notes that a lot of corporations are panicking at the moment and that significant changes are underway. He believes that as many as half of today's studios will disappear within the next decade, especially since there are now content producers who can easily outspend any one of them. "It's just a rounding error for them because they're $1 trillion companies. We've never seen that before in the business," he explains.
While the lawsuit is a huge win for artists, as it could set a precedent for future cases involving split releases, Russo mentions that people's nerves are fraying and that it's hard to predict what's going to happen or where anything is going. For the Russos in particular, it put their own relationship with Disney on shaky ground, with the Wall Street Journal reporting that the brothers were at an impasse amid negotiations for an upcoming Marvel project.
Despite the initial fallout, it looks like all is civil between Disney and Johansson at this point. Alan Bergman, the content chairman at Disney Studios, recently said that he was pleased to have been able to come to a mutual agreement with Johansson in the settlement. He also praised her contributions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Black Widow and left the door open for them to work on future titles.
Black Widow is now streaming on Disney Plus.
Source: Variety