Scarlett Johansson embroiled in legal battle with Disney

The Black Widow actress Scarlett Johansson is suing Disney for a breach of contract.

Johansson's attorneys filed the lawsuit on Thursday (July 29), alleging that her contract was breached when the studio opted not to exclusively debut the film in theatres.

They are claiming that the studio's decision to release the film on their streaming service negatively impacted box office sales for the film.

Much of the actress's compensation was tied to these sales, and if they hit certain benchmarks, bonuses would kick in. The film will likely not hit these benchmarks.

Disney have responded to the lawsuit, calling it "sad and distressing". The production giant also lashed out at Johansson, say she showed "callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the Covid-19 pandemic".

Black Widow set pandemic-era box office records with its $80 million debut when it was released in theatres in North America on July 9. It went on to earn an additional $78 million overseas.

Disney announced in March that the film would be available on its subscription-based streaming service as well as in theatres, but users had to pay a premium $30 price to view the film. Black Widow pulled in $60 million on Disney+.

However, ticket sales plummeted after the film's initial release, currently standing at $319 million globally, and the film is on track to become one of the lowest grossing Marvel movies of all time.

Responding to the lawsuit, Disney stated that Johansson has already received $20 million for her work.

They argue that "the release of Black Widow on Disney+ with Premier Access has significantly enhanced her ability to earn additional compensation on top of the $20 million she has received to date.”

Disney did not provide any information about whether or not Johansson’s contract was renegotiated so that she could share in streaming rental revenue.

“It’s no secret that Disney is releasing films like Black Widow directly onto Disney+ to increase subscribers and thereby boost the company’s stock price, and that it’s hiding behind Covid-19 as a pretext to do so,” John Berlinski, an attorney for Johansson said in a statement to Variety.

“But ignoring the contracts of the artists responsible for the success of its films in furtherance of this short-sighted strategy violates their rights, and we look forward to proving as much in court," he continued.

"This will surely not be the last case where Hollywood talent stands up to Disney and makes it clear that, whatever the company may pretend, it has a legal obligation to honour its contracts.”

As Berlinski suggests, this lawsuit has much wider implications as it could impact the way in which film stars are compensated in the streaming era.

It may also spark a fresh wave of legal action from actors upset that their films are not exclusively debuting in theatres.