American actress and singer Scarlett Johansson looked back on her Disney lawsuit over the release of Black Widow, which was originally slated for a theatrical bow. In an Interview with Telegraph, Johansson revealed, after four years, about her experiences that she would have valued support from her colleagues in Hollywood during that time period. She noted, “I mean, it would be great to have more support from the community and my peers – vocally, publicly on certain issues that affect the entire industry,” the actor says. “It’s always helpful to have more voices, you guys!”
Johansson’s lawsuit was spurred by the streaming release threatening her bonus tied to Black Widow’s box office performance. The film’s landing on Disney+ the same day it was released in theatres jeopardised this bonus, which had been written into her contract. Johansson expressed that she would have liked it if her peers had supported her, but she does concede that even speaking out alone can leave strong effects.
As the star explains, the last-minute release pivot totally upended existing systems in Hollywood and it was important to her to push for change. “As we moved from the model of theatrical box-office bonuses to understanding how that translated to streaming, it had just become this nebulous thing, with no guidelines around it. So to be able to impact that moves everything in the right direction. But yes, I would welcome more support”.
The COVID-19 pandemic closed many movie theatres and left moviegoers feeling uneasy about going to the ones that remained open, prompting Disney to adopt the day-and-date strategy for Black Widow. The movie ended up grossing $379 million worldwide at the box office, an extremely soft result given its estimated $200 million budget. The film, directed by Cate Shortland, follows Natasha Romanoff as she confronts her past and reconnects with old family members. Generally, it fared well with critics. Black Widow reviews praised Johansson’s commanding lead performance, as well as the performances from MCU newcomers Florence Pugh and David Harbour. On Rotten Tomatoes, Black Widow enjoys a 79 percent critics’ score and a glowing 91 percent Popcornmeter. Despite the legal drama surrounding the release, then, Johansson’s final outing as Romanoff was generally well-received.