Disney CEO defends 'flexibility' of releasing movies both in theaters and on streaming following Scarlett Johansson's lawsuit
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- Disney is doubling down on its decision to simultaneously release its movies in theaters and on Disney+.
- Disney CEO Bob Chapek said in an earnings call Thursday that Disney values having "flexibility."
- Black Widow star Scarlett Johansson filed a lawsuit against the firm for the duel release.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Disney doubled down on its decision to simultaneously release some movies in theaters and on streaming on Thursday.
"As you probably recognize, we live in a very uncertain world in terms of the recovery of some of our markets in the theatrical exhibition world is certainly part of that," Bob Chapek, CEO of Disney said in an earnings call. "We've said from the very beginning that we value flexibility in being able to make as last-minute calls as we can given what we see in the marketplace."
His comments come less than two weeks after "Black Widow" star Scarlett Johansson filed a lawsuit against Disney, accusing the company of breaching its contract with her contract by releasing the movie on its Disney+ streaming platform and in theaters at the same time. Her compensation, the lawsuit says, is based largely on box office revenue, some of which will be foregone by streaming.
Johansson's lawsuit was not immediately addressed in the call.
The star's attorney told Insider that Disney ignored the contract it had with the actress and violated her rights.
"It's no secret that Disney is releasing films like Black Widow directly onto Disney+ to increase subscribers and thereby boost the company's stock price - and that it's hiding behind Covid-19 as a pretext to do so," John Berlinksi, Johansson's attorney, said at the time. "But ignoring the contracts of the artists responsible for the success of its films in furtherance of this short-sighted strategy violates their rights and we look forward to proving as much in court."
Disney defended the release, telling Insider that"there is no merit whatsoever to this filing. The lawsuit is especially sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic." The release on Disney+'s "premiere access" subscription level also "significantly enhanced her ability to earn additional compensation on top of the $20M she has received to date."
Overall, contracts with talent during the pandemic's strange era of movie releases have "by and large, they've gone very, very smoothly," Chapek said Thursday.
"We've figured out ways to fairly compensate our talent, so that no matter what the business model is that we have to go to market with, everybody feel satisfied," Chapek added. "And I will say that since COVID has begun, we've entered into hundreds of talent arrangements with our talent. And by and large, they've gone very, very smoothly."
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