The Pandemic Changed Theatrical Distribution Forever
And talent will want to get paid no matter how the movie is distributed
After much brouhaha, the pending lawsuit between Scarlett Johansson and Disney over the release of Black Widow (Johansson not only starred as the titular Marvel superhero but also produced, a first for an actor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe) has been unceremoniously resolved. According to Deadline, Disney agreed to pay Scarlett $40M (over what time period is unknown), part of which will presumably go towards her legal team and her agents at CAA. And now that this messiness has been resolved, everyone is best friends again, ready to tease Scarlett’s starring role in Disney’s next theme park turned movie franchise, Tower of Terror.
In many ways this isn’t a surprising outcome — a long, drawn-out court battle is not what either side wanted. Disney tried something in releasing Black Widow simultaneously on Disney+ Premier Access (which basically means Disney+ subscribers can pay $30 to see it) and in theaters. Despite a great opening weekend, that strategy seems to have hurt Black Widow’s overall box office, especially when compared to the second Marvel release of the year, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. That film has now eclipsed Black Widow to become the top movie of 2021 in the US.
