Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson has filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against Disney. She has alleged that the media giant has breached her contract. This is by releasing Black Widow simultaneously in theatres and Disney+. The move has cost the actress a huge loss.
As reported by sources to Wall Street Journal, The suit alleges that Scarlett Johansson agreed that her salary for the film would be based, in large part, on the film’s box office haul.
Disney intentionally induced Marvel’s breach of the agreement, without justification, in order to prevent Ms. Johansson from realizing the full benefit of her bargain with Marvel,” the suit said.
As reported by sources to WSJ, “Disney intentionally induced Marvel’s breach of the agreement, without justification, in order to prevent Ms Johansson from realising the full benefit of her bargain with Marvel. The simultaneous online release of Black Widow resulted in losses of $50 million (around ₹371 crore).”
Disney spokesperson called Scarlett’s allegations especially sad and distressing. “Disney has fully complied with Ms Johansson’s contract and furthermore, the release of ‘Black Widow’ on Disney+ with Premier Access has significantly enhanced her ability to earn additional compensation on top of the $20 million she has received to date,” the spokesperson added.
Scarlett’s lawyer John Berlinski told CNN business, “It’s no secret that Disney is releasing films like Black Widow directly onto Disney+ to increase subscribers and thereby boost the company’s stock price. But ignoring the contracts of the artists responsible for the success of its films in furtherance of this short-sighted strategy. We look forward to proving as much in court.”
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and names the Walt Disney Company as the sole defendant.
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