They say time heals all wounds and that seems to be the case with Scarlett Johansson regarding her past legal battle with Disney over the release of 2021’s Black Widow. What should’ve been a celebratory moment — Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff finally got her own film after a slew of appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe — turned into very public discourse when the actress sued the studio. At the end of the day, it all worked out and Johansson now says that she holds no ill-will towards the Mouse House over it.
During an interview with The New York Times, Johansson opened up about the 2021 legal battle with Disney regarding the release of Black Widow. The film was released during the pandemic, when studios were trying to turn profits as theaters weren’t completely re-opened. With the standalone MCU effort, Disney decided to release the film in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access, which also gave viewers a streaming option. This went against Johansson’s contract, which made it clear the film would be released exclusively in theaters. This led to Johansson suing Disney, eliciting ugly jabs from the studio against Johansson at the time. Despite all of this, Johansson says she’s moved on:
“I don’t hold a grudge. 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.'”
Disney Made the Black Widow Legal Battle Deeply Personal
What made this matter particularly ugly was how Disney handled it openly in the media. The jabs were deeply personal, with the studio revealing that Johansson was paid $20 million for her work on the film and claiming that the actress displayed “callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.” Not only did the studio try to publicly imply that she was being greedy, since she already received a hefty payday, but it also insinuated that she lacked sympathy for those dealing with the pandemic at a time when many folks were justifiably afraid to make a trip to the theater.
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For Johansson, bringing the lawsuit served multiple purposes. The actress also had a producing credit on the film and, according to the contract that she signed, Black Widow was guaranteed an exclusive release in theaters. Johansson felt that the Premier Access release at home, which ran for $30, directly cannibalized the theatrical earnings of the film and explicitly violated the terms of her contract. Disney tried to pivot on the film’s release strategy, likely thinking the actress wouldn’t oppose it, and found out that wouldn’t be the case. There was also a strong element in the air that if a male actor had this complaint, there wouldn’t be nearly as much pushback from the studio. At the time, Bob Chapek was the CEO of Disney, and his handling of the Black Widow lawsuit is cited as one of several reasons his tenure ended. Bob Iger subsequently returned as CEO.
Black Widow grossed $80 million during its opening weekend, which is by no means a poor number, but not near the heights of Marvel releases at the time. Even though this figure was viewed by some as strong by pandemic standards, the release of the film on streaming was said to have cannibalized the movie’s opening weekend. The movie earned a reported $67 million on Disney+ Premier Access, which likely ate into its theatrical debut. The streaming element was also called into question when the film tumbled 67 percent in its second weekend to $25.8 million. By the end of its run, Black Widow grossed $183.7 million domestically and $379.8 million worldwide.
Johansson and Disney ultimately settled their dispute and, although the terms of that settlement were not made public, the actress was seeking $50 million from the studio. At the time of the settlement, the Johansson said, “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.”
Johansson Is Still Holding a Grudge Against OpenAI, Though
Elsewhere in the interview, Johansson commented on another recent controversy. Back in May, OpenAI released a ChatGPT voice that sounded identical to Johansson in the film Her, in which she voiced an AI named Samantha. OpenAI took the voice down after receiving backlash and denied that the chatbot was meant to sound like Johansson at all. The actress subsequently revealed that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had approached her about using her voice for the chatbot and that she had turned him down.
Johansson recalled her aversion to the idea, saying she “actively avoided being a part of the [AI] conversation, which was what made it so disturbing. I was like, ‘How did I get wrapped up in this?’ It was crazy. I was so angry.” She described AI imagery and deepfakes as a “dark wormhole you can never climb your way out of,” adding:
“I think technologies move faster than our fragile human egos can process it, and you see the effects all over, especially with young people. This technology is coming like a thousand-foot wave.”