How WB's HBO Max Releases Avoided Disney's Scarlett Johansson Controversy
Disney is currently facing Scarlett Johansson's lawsuit for Black Widow's simultaneous release on Disney+, but Warner Bros. avoided such an overt repercussion with their movies releasing day-and-date on HBO Max. Unlike in the case of Disney, which never negotiated streaming revenue distribution with its talent, Warner Bros. compensated its stars and filmmakers with a financial deal that adjusts their payout to make up for lost box office revenue.
Johansson's suit against The Walt Disney Company has potentially industry-shattering implications in the world of post-COVID moviegoing. Traditionally, when signing on to a production, actors receive a cut of the entire box office earnings on top of an upfront payment upon employment. This means that if a film is particularly successful in theaters, an actor is guaranteed to rake in even more money based on their film's financial performance. In Johansson's case, however, there was a caveat involved in the release of the star's film. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney+ rolled out Black Widow with a Premier Access fee of $29.99. Audiences who wanted to see Marvel's newest blockbuster tentpole but who were uneasy with stepping into a theater could rent the film from their living rooms.
Johansson alleges that the PVOD release of her movie was a breach of contract since she was initially guaranteed a percentage of the profits of an exclusive theatrical release. But Black Widow isn't the only casualty of the shift from theaters to streaming. Warner Bros. went several steps further than Disney, releasing their films straight to HBO Max at the same time as they hit theaters without any paywall whatsoever and opening questions about financial compensation for the creative parties involved in those productions, too. The difference between Disney and Warner Bros. is that the latter made sure to amend contract negotiations in order to avoid the type of pushback that is embroiling the former at the moment.
Months before the wide reopening of movie theaters in key markets, HBO Max released Wonder Woman 1984 just in time for the Christmas weekend after Warner Bros. struck a deal with producer Charles Roven, director Patty Jenkins, star Gal Gadot, and other parties involved with the film's production. To make up for lost box office revenue while still considering viewers' consumption (the film was the most-watched straight-to-streaming title in 2020), Jenkins and Gadot were paid more than $10 million in order to reflect the predicted box office numbers sans pandemic scenario.
Then came the even bigger news that Warner Bros. would release all 17 of its 2021 theatrical releases on HBO Max the day they hit theaters. The parties involved were nowhere near as privy to this play as those involved in the Wonder Woman deal, but the studio did reportedly rack up about $200 million to pay actors like Will Smith, Keanu Reeves, Margot Robbie, and Denzel Washington, who were set to star in these releases. In fact, Johansson's suit references these payments in the complaint, which argues that the actress was denied the same level of compensation.
However, it's important to note that WarnerMedia isn't completely safe from the controversy, either. Legendary Entertainment, which financed 75% of Godzilla vs. Kong and the upcoming Dune, was considering suing Warner Bros. after the HBO Max announcement. The settlement seems to have dissipated that dispute, but there are still concerns about the potentially poor box office performance of Dune due to a hybrid release. Director Denis Villeneuve argued that a theatrical release is what he originally agreed to, a complaint that is not at all dissimilar to Johansson's. WarnerMedia may have covered their bases for now, but Johansson may have just opened the door to groundbreaking unexplored legal territory in the film industry with her lawsuit regarding Black Widow.