"Black Widow" sued Disney for up to $100 million

Scarlett Johansson's team reportedly tried to negotiate with Disney for up to $100 million after Black Widow's release schedule changed.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, "the calculation is based on the star's earnings at a hypothetical global box office of $1.2 billion." This figure was estimated based on Marvel's past theatrical releases before the pandemic, plus Johnson's $20 million starting salary.

The actress’s representatives allegedly approached Disney with a $100 million figure as a “starting bid” after learning that Black Widow would be released as a Premier Access film on Disney Plus on the same day as the film’s release — however, reports suggest negotiations never officially began as Disney never made a counteroffer.

After the film premiered simultaneously in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access, Johansson decided to sue Disney for allegedly violating her Black Widow contract, which reportedly guaranteed her that the film would have a theatrical release.

According to an email in the lawsuit that was highlighted again in a recent Wall Street Journal report, Marvel chief legal counsel Dave Gallucci told Johnson's representatives that discussions needed to take place if plans changed "because the contract was predicated on a series of huge box office bonuses for (Johnson)."

The report pointed out that one of the reasons for the breakdown of contract negotiations was uncertainty about who should take the lead in the negotiations. It is said that Disney's current CEO Bob Chapek is focused on corporate affairs related to the pandemic and has handed over contract decision-making power to others in the organization, but Bob Iger (former Disney CEO) and Alan Horn (current Disney CCO) are also unwilling to get involved in this mess.

Disney later responded to Johansson's lawsuit, claiming that they had "fully complied with Ms. Johansson's contract" and that the release of Black Widow on Disney Plus Premier Access actually "significantly enhanced" the star's ability to receive "additional compensation beyond the $20 million."