Scarlett Johansson's Disney battle takes another turn

The legal battle initiated by American actress Scarlett Johansson took a new turn as Walt Disney Studios tried to settle the case out of court behind closed doors.

In her lawsuit filed last month, Black Widow actress Scarlett Johansson complained that Disney Studio bilked her out of millions of dollars she was supposed to receive from box office receipts by releasing the female superhero movie simultaneously to theatres and Disney Plus. The studios' move significantly slashed the earnings that she deserved under a contract with the studios, the actress stated, saying the studios breached the terms of the contract.

Exasperated Disney bosses sought the case be moved to arbitration, citing contract at Periwinkle Entertainment, the company through which Johansson negotiated her contract and the official plaintiff in the case.

Disney said that Periwinkle agreed to resolve all disputes "'arising out of, in connection with, or relating to' Scarlett Johansson's acting services for Black Widow" through arbitration.

"In a futile effort to evade this unavoidable result (and generate publicity through a public filing), Periwinkle excluded Marvel as a party to this lawsuit –– substituting instead its parent company Disney under contract-interference theories. But longstanding principles do not permit such gamesmanship," Disney motion stated. 

Scarlett Johansson did not mention Marvel in her lawsuit, given that her contract was with Marvel, not Disney, as she contended that Disney forced Marvel to breach her contract. 

But, Disney's motion said, "Periwinkle's claims that Marvel breached the Agreement and Disney induced that breach or otherwise interfered with the Agreement have no merit."

Black Widow, as the highest-grossing film at the domestic box office during the pandemic, earned $179.3 million. Disney also revealed in its motion on Friday that the film had also raked in "more than $125 million in streaming and download retail receipts."