Black Widow dived into Natasha Romanoff’s story while staying relevant to the present. We saw her reunite with her family and confront the secrets of her dark past. But after the release, it did not take too long for the actress, Scarlet Johansson to sue Disney over the release of the film in the streamer. Disney responded as well. But now it seems like a very important man to both Marvel Studios and Disney is angry and pissed with this situation. A new report has claimed that Marvel Studios’ President Kevin Feige is Furious with Disney for the streaming release of Black Widow.
Feige P*ssed at Disney
The whole thing started with Disney breaching Johansson’s contract. Her contract states that her salary is contingent on the box office success of the film she appears in, ie., Black Widow. With the movie coming on Disney+Hotstar, this move has cost the actress $50,000,000. But it looks like Johansson is not alone when it comes to standing up to Disney’s actions. Kevin Feige is on her side too.
Former Hollywood Reporter editor Matt Belloni claimed in his newsletter What I’m Hearing… that Feige is pissed. He is reportedly siding with Scarlett in this whole ruckus and wants Disney to do right by his studio’s talent. The report reads:
“And make no mistake: Feige is p*ssed. He’s a company man, and not prone to corporate showdowns or shouting matches. But I’m told he’s angry and embarrassed. He lobbied Disney against the day-and-date plan for Black Widow, preferring the big screen exclusivity and not wanting to upset his talent. And then when the sh*t hit the fan, the movie started tanking, and Johansson’s team threatened litigation, he wanted Disney to make this right with her. (Disney declined to comment on Feige.)”
If the report is right, Feige is definitely not happy with Disney. Moreover, Feige actually pushed for an exclusive theater release according to the report. So, it’s pretty surprising that Disney would actually go against the wishes of Feige and Johansson. The report also says that Disney did not comment on Feige’s side of the story. But the president actually wants Disney to make amends with Johansson.
Marvel vs. Disney
In the report, Belloni went as far as to say that Feige is “Disney’s most important employee.” Feige is definitely a mastermind when it comes to MCU’s box office dominance. Now that is something that we’ve seen repeatedly in the past 10 years. Feige is a person that should not be messed with. Feige and Disney’s relationship is something that cannot be ignored. In the past, Feige had issues with Marvel boss Ike Perlmutter, and the issue was immediately rectified.
One thing definitely remains in question. That is who’s to say that Disney won’t repeat this with other MCU flicks that are coming on the streamer. The fact that Disney went against Feige’s wishes doesn’t fit well with the relationship between these two. However, Disney says that they have respected Johansson’s contract and have not breached it in any capacity. But if the plan was for a pure theatrical release, then why did Disney choose to upload the movie on the streamer?
Disney Tanked Black Widow At The Box Office
This actually tanked Black Widow‘s earnings at the box office. The movie easily beat F9 but saw a significant drop of 67% in box-office revenue on its second weekend of release. Now, this is the largest of any film in the MCU, which was obviously not good for the movie’s reputation. The fact that Disney uploaded the movie in the streamer made it possible for the audience to sit at home and watch the movie with some additional fee.
Moreover, this actually led to the piracy of the film as well. And let’s not forget the pandemic effect that the film industry has suffered. The movie anyway got delayed one too many times. So the movie not performing well in the second week was salt to the injury. Now, it seems that the relationship between Disney and Marvel might only grow tense if the former does not clear the mess. There has been no official confirmation about Feige’s mood as of now. But the business between Marvel and Disney remains in question.
Black Widow is currently streaming on Disney+. Do you think that its move to release the film on Disney+ PA and in the theatres was a good one? Let us know in the comments.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter for more content.
Also Watch:
