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Scarlett Is Only the First: Inside the ‘Black Widow’ Lawsuit

Scarlett Johansson in a scene of Black Widow
Photo by Jay Maidment/Marvel Studios
Matthew Belloni
July 29, 2021

Where to begin? How about here: Over the past few days, I’m told by two sources, Disney executives had begun reaching out to some of the talent from its summer 2021 movies, exploring a possible plan that would pay them extra money to compensate for the cannibalized box office revenue that occurred after the studio put their films on Disney+’s “premier access” tier the same day as the company released them in theaters.

It was a big turnabout. Disney had steadfastly refused to compensate its creative partners for its day-and-date streaming gambit in the same way WarnerMedia had bought out many of its talent as if its 2021 theatrical slate had been hits. Instead, Disney’s “premier access” revenue would be lumped into the box office bucket, minus a percentage for digital distributors, making scores of stars and others very upset. Amid the outreach, representatives for those talents wondered about the reason for the sudden change of heart.