translated from Spanish: Scarlett Johansson sued Disney over the digital premiere of “Black Widow”

Actress Scarlett Johansson, star of the latest Marvel film “Black Widow” (2021), on Thursday sued Disney for breach of contract due to the simultaneous release in theaters and on the digital platform Disney + of this film. Johansson, who filed the complaint in a court in Los Angeles (USA), pointed out that the agreement he reached with Disney for the filming of “Black Widow” guaranteed a release exclusively in theaters and that his salary was based largely on the film’s box office profits. The actress and also producer of “Black Widow” noted that there was “a promise” from Marvel that the film would have an exclusive release in theaters.” Disney was well aware of this promise, but still instructed Marvel to violate its commitment and instead release the film on Disney+ the same day it hit theaters,” the lawsuit states. Disney intentionally induced Marvel’s breach of contract, without justification, with the aim of preventing Johansson from obtaining the full benefits of his deal with Marvel,” the complaint adds. Black Widow” is the first film Marvel has released since the pandemic began and is the film with which Johansson says goodbye to his character of Natasha after more than a decade playing her in this popular superhero saga. Directed by Cate Shortland and with Florence Pugh accompanying Johansson, “Black Widow” made $80 million in its opening weekend in U.S. and Canadian theaters, a figure that allowed it to be the best release on the big screen since the pandemic began.” Black Widow” added another $78 million in the international market. In addition, Disney detailed, in a very unusual gesture and commented on in Hollywood, that it had gotten 60 million more sales on the Disney+ platform in its first weekend. Disney+ subscribers had to pay an extra $30 to watch “Black Widow” for streaming. This demand for Johansson could set a trend in the world of entertainment at a time when the main companies in the sector are opting for streaming services with the aim of achieving greater growth. This move implies important changes for actors and producers, who for their part want to ensure that the development of digital platforms does not take place at their expense.” This surely won’t be the last case where Hollywood artists take on Disney and make it clear that whatever the company intends to do, it has a legal obligation to fulfill its contracts,” John Berlinski, one of Johansson’s attorneys, told The Wall Street Journal. they had limited capacity. This weekend it will present in theaters and streaming at the same time another of its big bets for this summer: “Jungle Cruise”, with Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt as stars.

Original source in Spanish