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[ManaByte]

Scarlett Johansson Reportedly Asked Disney for $100M Due to Black Widow's Day and Date Release - IGN

Scarlett Johansson's team reportedly tried to negotiate a deal with Disney after Black Widow's release plans changed.

www.ign.com

According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, "the calculation was based on what the star would receive in a hypothetical global box-office take of $1.2 billion," a sum that was estimated based on Marvel's past theatrical releases before the COVID-19 pandemic, plus Johansson's $20 million starting salary for her titular role in the movie.

The actress' representatives allegedly approached Disney with the $100 million figure as a "starting bid" after learning that Black Widow would be released as a Premier Access movie on Disney Plus the same day as it hit theaters — however, the report states that negotiations didn't get off the ground as Disney never made a counteroffer.

 

[Stitch]

Disney:

 

[ManaByte]

Disney:

 

[Pagusas]

Embarrassing.

 

[Quixz]

Ill-advised move by her team. She will miss out on future millions due to greed.

 

[sol_bad]

This is old news.
And that's how negotiations work, you start with the highest possible number possible. You'd be an idiot to start negotiations with a low number. I'd say a hundred million makes sense as a billion dollars at the box office might have been possible prior to COVID based on 5 out of the last 6 films making over a billion dollars. The 3 films prior to that (GOTG2, Homecoming, Ragnarok) almost made 900 million each.

 

[bitbydeath]

This is old news.
And that's how negotiations work, you start with the highest possible number possible. You'd be an idiot to start negotiations with a low number. I'd say a hundred million makes sense as a billion dollars at the box office might have been possible prior to COVID based on 5 out of the last 6 films making over a billion dollars. The 3 films prior to that (GOTG2, Homecoming, Ragnarok) almost made 900 million each.

You can’t blame Covid on Disney though. If it went Cinema only she would have earned far less. Disney and other movie studios are out to earn the most money, it wouldn’t have gone to D+ without a stronger return on investment.

 

[Pagusas]

This is old news.
And that's how negotiations work, you start with the highest possible number possible. You'd be an idiot to start negotiations with a low number. I'd say a hundred million makes sense as a billion dollars at the box office might have been possible prior to COVID based on 5 out of the last 6 films making over a billion dollars. The 3 films prior to that (GOTG2, Homecoming, Ragnarok) almost made 900 million each.

Your also playing the optics card with this, there is a time where your ask is just outright offensive. Like if you lowball offer a house, some sellers will just not respond to you at all.

Also this was her very last MCU movie ever, with no reason to ever bring her back, I imagine Disney is fine burning a bridge with her to make sure they set them selves up well for future contracts based on streaming. She just really lacks leverage here, and also lacks the optical high ground of public opinion (which doesnt matter in a court of law, but does matter for her career).

I will say something in her favor though, and that is if this was Robert Downey Jr, everyone including Disney wouldnt dare let this even get to the point of a lawsuit, they'd just pay the man. She is no RDJ, but she is a major figure and I do think sexism has an effect on opinions in this (again shouldnt matter in the courts, but does matter from public opinon)

 

[sol_bad]

You can’t blame Covid on Disney though. If it went Cinema only she would have earned far less. Disney and other movie studios are out to earn the most money, it wouldn’t have gone to D+ without a stronger return on investment.

No, you can't blame COVID and the 100 million is obviously ridiculous with the current climate but Disney should have made a counter offer rather than just ignore her. It's highly disrespectful and I don't think they ignored The Rock when it came to Jungle Cruise. He got 22 million for a movie that peformed worse across the board compared to Black Widow, Scarlet deserved far more than the 20 million she got considering it performed better than Jungle Cruise.

There is not facts suggesting Black Widow would have made less if it was theatrical only.
What is a fact though is that families could watch Black Widow for $35 rather than spend $80 or $100+ at the cinemas. Disney+ = less revenue, that's a fact.

 

[AlteredForms]

approached Disney with the $100 million figure as a "starting bid" .... however, the report states that negotiations didn't get off the ground as Disney never made a counteroffer.

Disney be like:

 

[Tschumi]

You're good, Scarlett, all is forgiven.

 

[bitbydeath]

No, you can't blame COVID and the 100 million is obviously ridiculous with the current climate but Disney should have made a counter offer rather than just ignore her. It's highly disrespectful and I don't think they ignored The Rock when it came to Jungle Cruise. He got 22 million for a movie that peformed worse across the board compared to Black Widow, Scarlet deserved far more than the 20 million she got considering it performed better than Jungle Cruise.

There is not facts suggesting Black Widow would have made less if it was theatrical only.
What is a fact though is that families could watch Black Widow for $35 rather than spend $80 or $100+ at the cinemas. Disney+ = less revenue, that's a fact.

That’s true but Disney would damage their own profits if it were true so all likely hood of earning less on Disney+ seems very unlikely. They wouldn’t have made that decision on a whim.

 

[sol_bad]

That’s true but Disney would damage their own profits if it were true so all likely hood of earning less on Disney+ seems very unlikely. They wouldn’t have made that decision on a whim.

If that were true they would have put Shang Chi on premiere access as well. Lesser known character, higher risk.

 

[AJUMP23]

I guess the legitimacy of the number depends on the contract. I think future back end contracts will probably include assurances for global pandemics.

Disney doesn’t have to care because her character is dead and has run it’s story arc. If it was Tom Holland it may be different.

 

[Alcibiades]

I think this had the potential to do about a billion pre-COVID. With COVID, as a theatrical exclusive, my guess is about 800-900 million, slightly ending above F9.

1.2 billion probably wouldn't have happened no matter what but it's hard to really tell. Venom overperformed, so not hard to think this one could too. I do think audiences were wanting to scratch the MCU itch after so long without a movie (this was originally supposed to come out before the Disney+ TV shows).

Disney should have settled an on assumed B. O. take between 800m-1 billion. Erring a little on the high side but considering the very generic Fast 9 got to 700 million, not crazy to think Black Widow could have reached a billion if Disney hadn't sent to a pristine copy for all the world to pirate.

 

[bitbydeath]

If that were true they would have put Shang Chi on premiere access as well. Lesser known character, higher risk.

Could have been banking on China for that one.

 

[sol_bad]

Could have been banking on China for that one.

They knew they didn't have a Chinese release date. They are usually scheduled months in advance.

 

[ManaByte]

Could have been banking on China for that one.

That’s never happening now.

 

[gatti-man]

The movie was not good. It cratered once wom got around. Comparing it to F9 doesn’t hold water. No one cares about a dead character and the D tier characters in a non consequential movie that isn’t even that entertaining. IMO it’s the worst marvel movie to come out, least entertaining for sure. Asking for 100m for that movie is absolutely laughable.

 

[bitbydeath]

They knew they didn't have a Chinese release date. They are usually scheduled months in advance.

Well, intentionally tanking their own profits seems very unlikely, they would have had their analysts all over it.

 

[sol_bad]

The movie was not good. It cratered once wom got around. Comparing it to F9 doesn’t hold water. No one cares about a dead character and the D tier characters in a non consequential movie that isn’t even that entertaining. IMO it’s the worst marvel movie to come out, least entertaining for sure. Asking for 100m for that movie is absolutely laughable.

Not sure where you get your thoughts from.

91% audience scrore. 10,000+ people.

Black Widow (2021) | Rotten Tomatoes

In Marvel Studios' action-packed spy thriller "Black Widow," Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a...

www.rottentomatoes.com

3.4 out of 5 on Letterboxd, 260,000+ people.

Black Widow (2021)

Natasha Romanoff, also known as Black Widow, confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her...

letterboxd.com

6.8 out 10 on IMDB, 204,000 people.

Black Widow (2021) ⭐ 6.6 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

2h 14m | PG-13

www.imdb.com

4.2 on Google, 15,000+ people.

That is far from "not good".

 

[gatti-man]

That’s surprising everyone I know literally hated it. It’s boring, has a non villain, talky, the fake Russian accents get extremely tiring. The extra scenes at the end were embarrassingly done and poorly acted. It’s barely tied to anything moving forward. I don’t think many people even felt the reason to see it because she’s a dead character. The movie was similar to SOLO for me. My wife and I love marvel movies and we were both bored. Blaming its poor performance on piracy imo is laughable.

 

[AnotherDayAnotherDollar]

I think this had the potential to do about a billion pre-COVID. With COVID, as a theatrical exclusive, my guess is about 800-900 million, slightly ending above F9.

1.2 billion probably wouldn't have happened no matter what but it's hard to really tell. Venom overperformed, so not hard to think this one could too. I do think audiences were wanting to scratch the MCU itch after so long without a movie (this was originally supposed to come out before the Disney+ TV shows).

Disney should have settled an on assumed B. O. take between 800m-1 billion. Erring a little on the high side but considering the very generic Fast 9 got to 700 million, not crazy to think Black Widow could have reached a billion if Disney hadn't sent to a pristine copy for all the world to pirate.

I don't think BW had a chance in hell of doing 1B in July without a China release. I highly doubt it would have done 1B pre covid too. We already knew what happened to the character and the movie came out 5 years too late IMO. Plus it's a bottom tier Marvel movie and a lot of people hated what they did with Taskmaster.

In a post covid world I believe F9's take (i.e. 710MM) is the ceiling for BW's BO take (if it got a China release). Without it I think ~500MM (F9's take minus China) is probably what it would have done, maybe 600MM given F&F is more popular than most Marvel movies there. Funny enough ScarJo got the backpay for the 380MM BO take + the 125M PA take.

https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/black-widow-disney-arbitrtion-motion.pdf

I believe ScarJo's team started off with an unrealistic 1.2B BO gross. Everyone knows the tactics of negotiation, but you have to be within sight of a realistic number. Black Widow had no chance of ever getting to that number. Venom also overperformed because it grossed almost 300MM in China. It grossed almost 300MM in China because Tencent was a partner in the film.

They knew they didn't have a Chinese release date. They are usually scheduled months in advance.

They had a Chinese release date until they moved it to July, as per ScarJo's request.

 

[sol_bad]

They had a Chinese release date until they moved it to July, as per ScarJo's request.

My comment was about Shang Chi.


*EDIT*
Just about your comment about Taskmaster, majority of people hating what they did with him = comic fans. Comic fans are an extremely small minority when it comes to MCU fans, most people didn't have a clue who Taskmaster was before this film and have no idea that he is a he in the comics.

 

[Max_Po]

I doubt it was going to do 1b regardless of COVID ... post ENDGAME....

After watching it I feel it was worst than Captian Flatass ...

 

[AnotherDayAnotherDollar]

Out of curiosity I googled what RDJ's salary was for Endgame. 75MM.

So ScarJo is asking to make 25MM more than the main actor made in the 2nd highest grossing movie of all time. Sorry bae I can't empathize with you here.

 

[Horatius]

Not sure where you get your thoughts from.

91% audience scrore. 10,000+ people.

Black Widow (2021) | Rotten Tomatoes

In Marvel Studios' action-packed spy thriller "Black Widow," Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a...

www.rottentomatoes.com

3.4 out of 5 on Letterboxd, 260,000+ people.

Black Widow (2021)

Natasha Romanoff, also known as Black Widow, confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her...

letterboxd.com

6.8 out 10 on IMDB, 204,000 people.

Black Widow (2021) ⭐ 6.6 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

2h 14m | PG-13

www.imdb.com

4.2 on Google, 15,000+ people.

That is far from "not good".

wow scientific proof that a movie is good, thanks so much for this sol bad you've truly revolutionised the discussion of art

 

[sol_bad]

wow scientific proof that a movie is good, thanks so much for this sol bad you've truly revolutionised the discussion of art

I have no idea what you are going on about.

 

[Alcibiades]

I have no idea who Taskmaster is. I saw the movie and enjoyed it. I have a hard time believing that all things being equal, a cookie cutter MCU film would earn less box office than a cookie cutter Fast and Furious film.

Piracy + no China release screwed this film over more than anything else. Maybe some people didn't like it but I think it was probably well received by casual fans. I think being post-Endgame hurt it for sure due to lower interest, but not I still think a billion was not out of the question considering the star power.

 

[Kenpachii]

What star power, she's the least interesting actor out of the whole bunch the same with that robin hood guy. She's heavily overpaid while at it.

The only movie i found her good in was that movie where she started to evolve towards 100 brain power something. And even then, she could have been replaced by any generic actor.

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

Not sure where you get your thoughts from.

91% audience scrore. 10,000+ people.

Black Widow (2021) | Rotten Tomatoes

In Marvel Studios' action-packed spy thriller "Black Widow," Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a...

www.rottentomatoes.com

3.4 out of 5 on Letterboxd, 260,000+ people.

Black Widow (2021)

Natasha Romanoff, also known as Black Widow, confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her...

letterboxd.com

6.8 out 10 on IMDB, 204,000 people.

Black Widow (2021) ⭐ 6.6 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

2h 14m | PG-13

www.imdb.com

4.2 on Google, 15,000+ people.

That is far from "not good".

The movie is fucking horrible. People are fucking idiots. That’s all your little pictures prove.

 

[sol_bad]

The movie is fucking horrible. People are fucking idiots. That’s all your little pictures prove.

You hate it, that's fine, hundreds of thousands of other people like it. Your view doesn't invalidate other peoples opinions.

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

You hate it, that's fine, hundreds of thousands of other people like it. Your view doesn't invalidate other peoples opinions.

They have objectively bad taste and the film is objectively terrible.

 

[sol_bad]

They have objectively bad taste and the film is objectively terrible.

How can someone have objectively bad taste?

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

How can someone have objectively bad taste?

By enjoying objectively terrible films, TV shows, etc.

 

[nush]

Not sure where you get your thoughts from.

91% audience scrore. 10,000+ people.

Black Widow (2021) | Rotten Tomatoes

In Marvel Studios' action-packed spy thriller "Black Widow," Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a...

www.rottentomatoes.com

3.4 out of 5 on Letterboxd, 260,000+ people.

Black Widow (2021)

Natasha Romanoff, also known as Black Widow, confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her...

letterboxd.com

6.8 out 10 on IMDB, 204,000 people.

Black Widow (2021) ⭐ 6.6 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

2h 14m | PG-13

www.imdb.com

4.2 on Google, 15,000+ people.

That is far from "not good".

 

[sol_bad]

By enjoying objectively terrible films, TV shows, etc.

But these films aren't terrible to these people.

Yes, and?

 

[nush]

Yes, and?

Wondering why you selected fucking Google reviews to make your argument rather than any other more reputable user review site. But we know the answer to that don't we?

 

[sol_bad]

Wondering why you selected fucking Google reviews to make your argument rather than any other more reputable user review site. But we know the answer to that don't we?

Please read my post again?

 

[Keihart]

Hawkeye, Falcon and Black widow, would anyone really even notice if they disappeared from the future movies?

 

[The Cockatrice]

6.8 aint that bad. Seen some amazin shit in the 6.5-7 range of imdb user scores. Movie was half great half meh, overall ok. I can understand why some would call it bad or a waste of time tho especially the useless last-half of the movie.

 

[pesaddict]

I thought it was shit the Russian accents

David harbour cracked me up.

Fuck Disney

 

[HoodWinked]

Black Widow is a weird one. Audience scores are inflated because people haven't been to the theaters and it was the first film people were seeing on the big screen in a long time. So the movie going experience is influencing the score higher for things like Cinemascore where they get the opinions right after someone sees the film. And judging Black Widow right after you've watched it, it's not that bad, but it's only when you get home and think about it you realize just how mediocre and superfluous it all was.

But notice how it's rated way lower on IMDB because this score is more accurate since this includes people that are seeing it on streaming or watched it later and are able to compare it to Shang Chi. So Black Widow isn't terrible but it's quite subpar a film.

 

[Alcibiades]

Black Widow is a weird one. Audience scores are inflated because people haven't been to the theaters and it was the first film people were seeing on the big screen in a long time. So the movie going experience is influencing the score higher for things like Cinemascore where they get the opinions right after someone sees the film. And judging Black Widow right after you've watched it, it's not that bad, but it's only when you get home and think about it you realize just how mediocre and superfluous it all was.

But notice how it's rated way lower on IMDB because this score is more accurate since this includes people that are seeing it on streaming or watched it later and are able to compare it to Shang Chi. So Black Widow isn't terrible but it's quite subpar a film.

I think this actually worked against Black Widow more than any other MCU film. First impressions for a lot of the audience was watching at home. With phones ringing, text messages, door bells, kids running around, lights on, poor sound, possibly bad picture, pausing to go to restroom, etc... while I am sure people want convenience and cheap snacks, no doubt some of these things work against the immersiveness of the movie. Every other MCU film had months of first impressions be a theatrical experience, perhaps even a communal experience of shared excitement.

I was never much into the MCU and missed several of the films before Endgame. After watching Infinity War in theaters, I went back and VUDU'ed or downloaded the ones I missed. Watching on a laptop really doesn't compare to the experience I had in theaters.

 

[Bernd Lauert]

I see it's at $370m now. So did the movie kinda bomb?

 

[Liamario]

I hope she gets every penny. She has helped make them billions and also helped build the foundations for future billions.

 

[ForAcademicPurposes]

Review scores lol

 

[sol_bad]

I see it's at $370m now. So did the movie kinda bomb?

It made an extra 120 million on Disney+ or so. Disney released those numbers in relation to this court case filing. So about 500 million, it made money.

 

[BadBurger]

I don't blame her as apparently she has her points and was promised in her contract of a traditional release, but I think she's going to have a very difficult time winning in court. All Disney has to do is argue the obvious, that they were acting in good faith in favor of the public health by choosing their release strategy. Also, giving her $100m based on the theoretical success of a movie in a universe without COVID-19 is something I can't see a judge or jury agreeing with.

 

[BLAUcopter]