Scarlett Johansson has slapped Disney with a lawsuit over the streaming of her latest onscreen venture, Marvel's Black Widow.
The actress, 36, is accusing the company of breaching her contract when it offered the film on its streaming service at the same time as it was released in movie theaters.
The film set a box office record for the Covid-19 pandemic, grossing $218 million in its first weekend, however, box office receipts then fell sharply as Johansson argues she was deprived of potential earnings, per BBC.
Johansson's earnings are based partly on the Marvel film's box office takings and, in court papers, she said the movie was intended for initial release exclusively in cinemas, per ET.
It's also reported that Johansson is demanding a jury trial to rule on this case.
The film also stars Florence Pugh, David Harbour, and Rachel Weisz. According to ET, the actress is suing Disney for intentional interference with contractual relations and for inducing a breach of contract.
In the complaint, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, she alleged that Disney wanted to increase subscriber numbers for its streaming vehicle Disney+.
So when Black Widow debuted on 9 July in theatres, the company had also released it on streaming for a $30 charge.
The lawsuit alleged that Disney wanted to "keep the revenues for itself while simultaneously growing the Disney+ subscriber base, a proven way to boost Disney's stock price".
"Second, Disney wanted to substantially devalue Ms Johansson's agreement and thereby enrich itself," the lawsuit states.
However, despite her firm stance, Disney says there was "no merit" in the claims, insisting that it complied with Johansson's contract.
A spokesperson for Disney told ET: "The lawsuit is especially sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"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 $20M she has received to date."
Johansson, who also serves as executive producer on the Black Widow film, told ET about what it was like for her to become the first Avenger to helm a project like this.
"In many ways, my greatest accomplishment on this film was being able to executive produce it and carve this out of nothing," she said.
"We made the movie because we wanted to, not because we had to, which was liberating in a lot of ways. We got to really focus on what we thought was the most important part of Natasha’s story and this is the result."
