Controversy flared this week as Scarlett Johansson's lawsuit against Disney fueled speculation that other actors may join the Black Widow star in a battle over compensation, as the studios shift from full theatrical releases of new films to simultaneous streaming and theatrical releases. This has become a hot topic in Hollywood, as many actors have been short-changed by contracts written before the COVID-19 pandemic, which were based around a presumption that any and all new film releases would premiere in movie theaters before being watchable on streaming services. This is an important point for many actors and other cinematic professionals, who may earn bonuses based on how much money a film makes in theaters, but not how much it generates in streaming revenue.
The controversy began to properly flare on July 29, when Scarlett Johansson filed a lawsuit against Disney, claiming that the company's decision to release Black Widow simultaneously in American movie theaters and on the Disney+ streaming service represented an act of interference in her contract with Marvel Studios. While the exact details of Johansson's contract have yet to be made public, she reportedly agreed to a lower set salary for doing the movie with the expectation of a bonus based upon a percentage of the box office earnings. However, with the movie being released simultaneously in theaters and through the Disney+ Premium Access option (where subscribers can see new movies as they open in theaters by paying an additional fee), Johansson is estimated to have lost up to $50 million in potential bonuses based on what Disney has made from streaming sales of Black Widow so far.
Disney was quick to fire back at Johansson, releasing a statement that denied her claims that her Black Widow contract had been violated. The statement further criticized Johansson for her "callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic." This move appears to have backfired dramatically, as many have stood up in support of Johansson and her claims, including Marvel Studios' president Kevin Feige. More, there are reportedly several other prominent actors who are now weighing their own options in suing Disney and other studios for failing to properly compensate them for their work and possibly trying to avoid paying them their promised bonuses.
New technology has led to conflict between the studios and the trade unions since the early days of Hollywood. The creation of television, for instance, led to the first battles over residuals, as actors and other creators sought compensation when the studios sold the broadcast rights to old movies and rerun television programs to broadcast networks. These arguments still occur today in the arena of streaming services, with the Actors' Equity Association (which represents stage actors and theater professionals) and SAG-AFTRA (which represents screen actors and film professionals) recently settling a dispute as to which organization should oversee theatrical productions that were produced for a limited live audience but also distributed digitally during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Scarlett Johansson's lawsuit over her Black Widow contract points to a similar conflict. Johansson's original contract, written before the pandemic, was typical of its kind and comparable to the one given Robert Downey Jr. for Avengers: Endgame, where the actor agrees to be paid a bonus based on the box office receipts of the film, in exchange for taking a lower base salary. This often proves to be a better deal for popular actors in a studio franchise, and the bonuses earned by Robert Downey Jr more than doubled his earnings for his final performance as Tony Stark. However, when the film is released simultaneously in movie theaters and through a streaming service, it eats into the potential earnings of the actor whose contract is based upon box office performance rather than digital sales.
Some studios have taken steps to rectify this in order to do right by their employees, while still acknowledging the dangers posed by COVID-19 and allowing audiences a choice when it comes to how they view new movies. Gal Gadot, for instance, was given a $10 million dollar bonus to compensate the loss she would have taken on the back end of her original contract for Wonder Woman 1984, after Warner Bros. elected to simultaneously release the film in theaters and on HBO Max. The studio has reportedly taken similar steps with all the movies it has scheduled for simultaneous theatrical and streaming releases throughout 2021, paying over $250 million in total. Unfortunately, this consideration seems to be the exception rather than the rule, and now many other actors are following Scarlett Johansson's lead in suing the studios.
While not attracting as much attention as Johansson's lawsuit against Disney, actor Gerard Butler filed a similar suit during the same week against Nu Image, Millennium Media, and Padre Nuestro Productions. It is Butler's contention that he has yet to be compensated for the residuals he earned based on his original contract for the 2013 action film Olympus Has Fallen. While the particulars of the contract have not been made public, it seems likely that Butler had a similar arrangement to Johansson's and agreed to a lower base salary in exchange for a percentage of the film's box office. While Butler's claim does not make mention of having lost revenue because of streaming shifting, it still bears consideration in relation to Johansson's case, as it highlights another way in which actors can lose money because of residuals.
Emma Stone, who played the title role in Disney's Cruella, is reportedly pondering following suit and filing her own claim against Disney regarding the simultaneous theatrical and streaming releases of the live-action prequel to 101 Dalmatians. While the details of Stone's contract with Disney are also not publicly known, it would not be surprising if she also had a contract where her final salary was contingent upon the box office receipts of Cruella. It has been noted, however, that Cruella's box office numbers were not as impressive as projected (despite being a critical smash) and many have blamed the Disney+ Premium Access option for that fact.
The eyes of Hollywood are also upon Emily Blunt, whose Disney film Jungle Cruise premiered on the same week as Johansson's lawsuit. Blunt is reportedly considering filing her own lawsuit regarding her contract for the film, but is still weighing her options. Presumably, this includes assessing how much Jungle Cruise makes during its opening weekend. She may also have been coordinating with co-star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, who was also reported as considering a lawsuit against Disney, but has now come out and said that neither her nor his Seven Bucks Productions company have any plans to sue Disney over an anticipated loss of revenue from the multi-platform release of Jungle Cruise.
There is some speculation that lawsuits may be filed against Disney for breach of contract in regards to the recent films Soul and Luca. The two animated works produced by Pixar were originally scheduled for theatrical releases, but were instead released directly to the Disney+ streaming service. This potentially could have hurt those employees whose contracts, like Scarlett Johansson's contract for Black Widow, were based around the expectant terms of a full theatrical release rather than a digital one. Disney's decision has also reportedly hurt morale at Pixar, leaving employees wondering why their work wasn't considered worthy of the Disney+ Premium Access program and essentially given away for free to anyone with a Disney+ subscription.
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