Disney released the latest Marvel movie, "Black Widow," in theaters and on its streaming service, Disney+. The movie's star, Scarlett Johansson, sued Disney, alleging the decision cost her millions. WSJ's Joe Flint explains how the showdown could affect the industry.This transcript was prepared by a transcription service. This version may not be in its final form and may be updated.Scarlett Johansson: I was an Avenger. I made mistakes. And a lot of enemies.
Joe Flint: Well, talent and media companies get into fights all the time. It's rare that they spill into the public with such spectacular fashion.Joe Flint: It's part of a larger story that's been going on in the industry for the last few years, escalating tensions between the creative community, and the big studios and networks.
Scarlett Johansson: I realized, hey, I didn't ever really come alive for myself, I was just feeding his aliveness.Scarlett Johansson: Okay guys, I can't do any cocaine, I'm running for office.Scarlett Johansson: Look, they're not called cages, they're called enclosures. They haven't been called cages in like a century.
Joe Flint: A large part of it, of course, is compensation, but also in what form will that compensation take? And the more powerful the actor, the bigger the star the more leverage they have to negotiate for that piece of box office. I mean, it's one thing to get a base salary. "We're gonna pay ya 15 million to do this movie." It's another thing to get a deal that says, "You're gonna make 20% of the global gross box office receipts from this movie.
Ryan Knutson: But even as COVID restrictions have eased and movie theaters have opened back up, some studios decided that, going forward, they wanted to keep releasing their movies this way, both on streaming platforms and in theaters. Ryan Knutson: A Warner Brothers executive told our colleague, Joe, that its intention was to "make sure people felt fairly compensated." But Disney did not take the Warner Brothers approach and renegotiate deals with talent. And, now, it's getting sued. That's after the break. When Black Widow was released to the public in theaters and on Disney+ it brought in a lot of money for Disney.
Ryan Knutson: But releasing Black Widow to streaming was also a boon for Disney+. The company even put out a press release touting the fact that it made $60 million via streaming.
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