Scarlett Johansson reflects on $40 million legal battle with Disney: “It just felt very unprofessional to me”
Disney may have helped make Scarlett Johansson one of the highest-paid stars in Hollywood thanks to her lucrative decade-long run as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Natasha Romanoff, but the actor knows her worth.
Despite being one of the superhero franchise’s most prominent stars and popular figures, it was her final film with Marvel that finally gave her character headline status in a solo flick. Unfortunately, the release of Black Widow was repeatedly delayed by the pandemic, having initially been scheduled to hit cinemas in May 2020.
When it finally released in July 2021, though, there was a notable caveat. Instead of an exclusive theatrical run, Black Widow debuted day-and-date on the big screen and Disney+ Premier Access for an additional fee, which caused Johansson to take legal action against the Mouse House.
Per the terms and conditions of her contract, Johansson had signed up for a movie that was only going to be released in cinemas, and by arriving on streaming the same day she stood to lose out on millions of dollars in backend compensation and profit participation percentages.
Disney responded by openly referring to the $20 million salary she’d been paid upfront for her efforts, blasting the star for her “callous disregard for the prolonged and global effects” of the pandemic. Effectively, the people in charge were effectively insinuating she was chasing the money, and Johansson didn’t respond kindly to the accusation.
The legal action was ultimately settled, with Johansson reportedly walking away from the contentious battle an estimated $40 million richer. In an interview with The New York Times, the two-time Academy Award nominee reflected on her issues with Disney, and said it was water under the bridge.
“I don’t hold a grudge,” she said. “I think it was just poor judgment and poor leadership at that time. It just felt very unprofessional to me, the entire ordeal. And honestly, I was incredibly disappointed, especially because I was holding out hope until, finally, my team was like, ‘You have to act.’”
It wasn’t a good look for Disney to be so publicly critical of an A-lister who’d helped make the company so much money through her role as a key member of the Avengers super-team, especially when it was the studio who made the call to send Black Widow to streaming without either consulting Johansson or combing through the small print to see if that was even something it could do without wading into murky legal waters.
As it turned out, it was not, but at least Johansson doesn’t bear any ill will towards her paymasters.
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