Scarlett Johansson and Disney Co. are known to have settled their lawsuit over the ongoing conflict on Thursday. The lawsuit filed by Johansson was related to the alleged streaming of her recent film ‘Black Widow’ simultaneously on OTT platforms. The actress filed the lawsuit two months ago in the Los Angeles court
The streaming release of the Marvel film is known to breach her contract with the studio and was made to deprive her potential earnings.
Although, both sides didn’t disclose the terms of their mutual agreement, they have released a joint statement according to which both the parties pledge to continue working together.
This is what the actress stated, “I am happy to have resolved our differences with Disney,” Johansson looked satisfied with the deal. She had played the character of Black Widow in as many as nine movies. It all started from 2010 when Scarlett Johansson first played the above character in “Iron Man 2.” (2010).
“I’m incredibly proud of the work we’ve done together over the years and have greatly enjoyed my creative relationship with the team. I look forward to continuing our collaboration.” the actress added.
“We appreciate her contributions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and look forward to working together on a number of upcoming projects,” Bergman said.
Now, as per the lawsuit, Johansson’s contract with Disney focused an exclusive theatre release and not any other platform. But the film was released on some other platforms without involving the actress. And this caused Scarlett a huge financial loss.
To be precise, it all happened at the time of COVID-19 pandemic when Disney decided to release the film simultaneously in theatres and OTT platforms for $30 rental.
“In the months leading up to this lawsuit, Ms. Johansson gave Disney and Marvel every opportunity to right their wrong and make good on Marvel’s promise,” the lawsuit said. “Disney intentionally induced Marvel’s breach of the Agreement, without justification, in order to prevent Ms. Johansson from realizing the full benefit of her bargain with Marvel.”
Initially, Disney stated that the above lawsuit had “no merits whatsoever”. It was further added, “especially sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The studio also stated that their changed contract plan “significantly enhanced her ability to earn additional compensation on top of the $20M she has received to date.”
Scarlett Johansson starring ‘Black Widow’ was delayed for over an year due to COVID-19 pandemic. Still, the film managed to grab over $80 million in North America alone. Along with that, the film is also known to have earned a whopping $7 million from other international theatres on July 9.
But the trend didn’t last long as the collection due to the film’s theatrical release declined sharply. Due to this, theatre owners came forward to register their dissatisfaction regarding the maker’s strategy to release the film. But all these allegations and complains were nothing as compared to the lawsuit filed by the actress.
