Thread by @finshots

Why Black Widow sued #Disney.

A thread.

Black widow has declared war against Disney, and it looks bad.

Last week, a feud fuelled up as Scarlett Johansson went ahead to sue Disney.

The actress claimed a breach in her contract after the release of the latest Black Widow movie in theatres & on Disney+ premier access simultaneously. How?

Well, the thing is that talent is often paid based on the box office revenues.

So movie stars have a backend deal where they are likely to receive two paychecks - the first being the amount paid for the movie upfront and the second if the movie grosses over a certain amount.

In ScarJo’s case, an exclusive theatrical release was guaranteed in her contract. But the digital release of the movie caused a dent in her pay.

How? Let’s do the math. Black Widow’s opening weekend saw the following figures:

~$80m in US theaters
~$78m overseas
~$60m+ from digital sales

Of this, the actress will receive her share from the box office revenues. However, she is not entitled to the $60m revenue that her movie made from digital sales. Further, a simultaneous release of the movie on Disney+ has hampered box office revenues.

Think about it - if you have easy access to the movie at home, why would you want to go to the theatres, especially during the pandemic, right? Hence, this loss in box office revenues, which further translated to a loss in her pay, is why she decided to sue.

But what’s more is that ScarJo’s move could be the first of many more to come in the industry. See, filmmaking is a collaborative effort. Many talented individuals work together to make the best movie they possibly can.

And in most cases, their income is directly tied to how well the film does at the box office. But the economics of this new arrangement of a dual release does not work in their favour.

And this is why more people from the industry are now looking to renegotiate their contracts.

Let us know your thoughts.

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