🎬 Johansson and Disney settled the Black Widow pay suit

Scarlett Johansson and Disney said in a joint statement on Sept. 30, 2021 that they had resolved her lawsuit over Black Widow, two months after it was filed in Los Angeles. The Hollywood Reporter and CNA both report that the terms were not disclosed. A fight that began with a public complaint and a very public press statement ended the way most Hollywood pay disputes do: privately.

What the suit said

The complaint was filed July 29, 2021 in Los Angeles Superior Court by Johansson's company, Periwinkle Entertainment. It alleged that Disney induced its subsidiary Marvel to breach her deal by putting Black Widow on Disney+ Premier Access the same day it opened in theaters, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The deal itself was with Marvel, not Disney, which is why the suit was framed as interference. CNN reported that the suit says her salary was based in large part on the film's box office haul.

The contract, as quoted in the suit, required a “wide theatrical release” of no less than 1,500 screens if the film was released at all. The complaint says that phrase was understood to mean an exclusive theatrical run of roughly 90 to 120 days. Disney's reply, per Variety: the contract never says “exclusive.” To back her reading, the suit includes a 2019 email from Marvel's chief counsel.

"We understand that should the plan change, we would need to discuss this with you and come to an understanding as the deal is based on a series of (very large) box office bonuses."

Marvel Chief Counsel Dave Galluzzi, in a 2019 email quoted in the lawsuit, as reported by Variety

The statement

Disney answered the same day. A spokesperson said, “There is no merit whatsoever to this filing,” and called the suit “especially sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.” The statement added that Premier Access had “significantly enhanced her ability to earn additional compensation on top of the $20M she has received to date,” per The Hollywood Reporter.

Her agent, CAA co-chairman Bryan Lourd, replied the next day that Disney had “shamelessly and falsely accused Ms. Johansson of being insensitive to the global COVID pandemic.” He said the company had put her salary in a press statement to “weaponize her success as an artist and businesswoman.” Johansson later told Variety, “I was sad and disappointed. But mostly sad.”

A note for the timeline. In 2018 The Hollywood Reporter published a figure for her Black Widow pay, and a Marvel spokesperson answered that “as a matter of policy, we never publicly disclose salaries or deal terms.” In July 2021 a Disney statement put $20M on the record. Different company, different year. Make of that what you will.

The arbitration move

On Aug. 20, Disney's lawyers asked the court to send the case to arbitration. They argued in the filing that Periwinkle had left Marvel out of the suit “in a futile effort to evade this unavoidable result (and generate publicity through a public filing).” Disney also said it had served a demand for confidential arbitration on Aug. 10, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Disney lawyer Daniel Petrocelli had told Variety two weeks earlier that the suit was “a highly orchestrated PR campaign” and that “the written contract is clear as a bell.”

Johansson's lawyer, John Berlinski, said Disney was “predictably, trying to hide its misconduct in a confidential arbitration.” Mr Scandal notes where that ended up.

The ending

The joint statement came on Sept. 30. Alan Bergman, Disney Studios chairman, said he was “very pleased that we have been able to come to a mutual agreement” and looked forward to working together on projects including Tower of Terror. Johansson said she was “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."

Scarlett Johansson, in the joint statement, via CNA

The amount is where the record stops. Variety wrote in May 2023 that the terms were not disclosed but that her payout “reportedly eclipsed $40 million.” That passage names no source for the figure, and neither side is quoted confirming it. The same interview says she remained in business with Disney on Tower of Terror. You can read the whole saga as a pay dispute, a PR duel or a template for the streaming era. The filings, the statements and the settlement announcement are the parts anyone can check.