Scarlett Johansson participates in the 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 09, 2020 in Beverly Hills, California.
David Crotty | Patrick McMullan | Getty Images
“Black Widow” star Scarlett Johansson’s powerhouse representative on Friday knocked Walt Disney for implicating the star of “callous disregard” for the risks of Covid-19 to the moviegoing public.
Bryan Lourd, who is co-chair of skill firm huge CAA, likewise recommended Disney was not playing reasonable by openly exposing Johansson’s $20 million wage for the Marvel Entertainment film. That figure had actually not formerly been shared openly.
Lourd stated Disney’s action to Johansson’s suit was “an attempt to make her appear to be someone they and I know she isn’t.”
Disney’s remark came hours after the “Black Widow” star submitted a suit versus the business Thursday, declaring it had actually breached her agreement when it launched the movie on its streaming service Disney+ at the very same time it debuted in theaters.
“There is no merit whatsoever to this filing,” Disney stated. “The lawsuit is especially sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Johansson, like numerous Marvel veterans consisting of Robert Downey Jr., worked out to have a portion of box-office invoices added to her wage. This has actually ended up being progressively typical with Marvel Cinematic Universe movies since of their theatrical performance history.
The Academy Award-chosen starlet has actually starred as Natasha Romanoff in 8 Marvel movies, which have actually jointly earned more than $10.5 billion in international box-office invoices in the last years.
Only 8 of Marvel’s 24 theatrical releases have actually earned less than $700 million internationally. And just 3 have actually protected less than $400 million. On average, these franchise movies amass almost $1 billion internationally throughout their theatrical runs.
So far, “Black Widow” has actually tallied $150 million throughout its very first 3 weeks in theaters and a little bit more than $300 million internationally. Its $80 million domestic opening weekend stays the greatest opening figure of any movie launched after March 2020, when numerous Covid pandemic limitations struck.
The streaming release of the movie consumed into box-office revenues, though Disney reported “Black Widow” scored $60 million from sales on Disney+ throughout its opening weekend. The business has actually not shared extra info about the movie’s digital efficiency. Entertainment specialists have actually likewise blamed widespread piracy of the movie for its stable drop in efficiency considering that the release.
While Disney’s choice to put “Black Widow” on Disney+ and in theaters on the very same day and date was a tactical relocation based upon pandemic pressures, it is predicted to have expense Johansson more than $50 million, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
Johansson’s suit declares the starlet attempted to renegotiate with Disney after she found the movie would not be launched solely in theaters, however the studio did not react.
Representatives from Disney did not right away react to CNBC’s ask for remark.
