Scarlett Johansson Has Settled Her Breach Of Contract Lawsuit With Disney
Right after Scarlett Johansson filed her breach of contract lawsuit against Disney over Black Widow’s release, Disney did the absolute most to make it seem like Scarlett had no case against them. And for a while, it really did feel like this was going to end up with Mickey Mouse in a courtroom trying not to bust out an arrogant “Ho ho” while testifying against her. Well, it looks like someone decided to make this situation disappear by reaching into his little red shorts and pulling out his checkbook. Because Scarlett Johansson has confirmed that she’s settled her lawsuit against Disney.
Back in July, Scarlett filed a lawsuit against Disney, accusing them of pulling the ol’ switcheroo on her contract without negotiating a new one with her. Scarlett’s Black Widow contract stipulated that she’d receive paycheck bonuses, should the film hit certain theatrical milestones. A whole lot of her financial compensation was tied to the physical box office. Then Disney decided they were going to drop Black Widow on their streaming service Disney+ on the exact same day it hit theaters. In-person ticket sales declined sharply after the film’s initial release, but Disney’s stock rose after they disclosed their streaming numbers were up. Scarlett accused Disney of cheating her out of an estimated $50 million in back-end bonuses.
Disney’s response to the lawsuit was about as gross as stepping in a soggy half-eaten churro on Main Street USA. Disney accused Scarlett of being a selfish, greedy woman who should be thinking about all the poor people affected by the pandemic. Then they accused Scarlett of launching a shameless PR campaign when she went public with her lawsuit. Most recently, they requested the lawsuit be moved into private arbitration (Scarlett’s attorney accused Disney of trying to hide their alleged misconduct from the public). Scarlett’s attorney made it seem like Disney would be fucked should they take this to trial. And here we are, trial averted. The Hollywood Reporter says that both Scarlett and Disney released their own statements on the matter. Scarlett says:
“I am happy to have resolved our differences with Disney. I’m incredibly proud of the work we’ve done together over the years and have greatly enjoyed my creative relationship with the team. I look forward to continuing our collaboration in years to come.”
And Disney Studios chairman Alan Bergman had this to add:
“I’m very pleased that we have been able to come to a mutual agreement with Scarlett Johansson regarding Black Widow. We appreciate her contributions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and look forward to working together on a number of upcoming projects, including Disney’s Tower of Terror.”
We likely won’t know the details of that settlement, as THR points out, they’re private and were not disclosed. But, since we know that Scarlett was accusing Disney of potentially cheating her out of $50 million, one could guess that Scarlett walked away with more than a couple bucks and a friends n’ family discount code for a 1-year subscription to Disney+. Since its release in theaters, Black Widow has made almost $379 million worldwide.
Scarlett is still producing and starring in a film based on the Disneyland Tower of Terror ride, as mentioned in Disney’s statement above. So that should be fun! It definitely won’t be awkward at all. Especially not when they get to the part where they negotiate the release of this film. Disney better come through with a comprehensive compensation plan, otherwise Scarlett’s lawyers will show them the real tower of terror, which is to say they’ll once again drag Disney down a metaphorical elevator shaft lined with photocopied lawsuit pages and embarrassing press releases.
Pic: Marvel Studios