According to The New York Times, Scarlett Johansson and The Walt Disney Company have resolved allegations that the entertainment titan shorted “Black Widow” star Johansson millions of dollars by simultaneously releasing the film on its streaming service instead of just in theaters. The news comes after the actress filed a complaint in Los Angeles County Superior Court in late July, accusing the company of breaching their agreement.
Thursday’s article by The New York Times’ Brooks Barnes explained that the parties expressed satisfaction with the deal, peaceably resolving what began as a bitter feud. As previously reported, Johansson complained that Disney went back on its word that it would only release the action flick in theaters, slashing her largely box office-based compensation. The lawsuit sought compensatory and punitive damages for Disney’s alleged ploy to divert would-be movie goers to its own streaming service, thereby buoying revenues and its stock price.
Disney slammed the complaint as baseless and derided the actress as greedy in view of the COVID-19 Pandemic gripping the globe. According to The New York Times, this caused tension between Johansson’s representatives at the Creative Artists Agency and Disney.
“Hollywood lit up with chatter that a bevy of other stars were similarly unhappy with Disney and poised to follow her to the courts,” Barnes wrote. However, aside from privately reached pay agreements with actresses like Emma Stone, who starred in a film distributed in the same way ‘Black Widow’ was, the anticipated wave of lawsuits has not yet come to pass, the news outlet said.
Johansson is represented by Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP and Disney by O’Melveny & Myers LLP.
