Aftermath of a Pandemic on the Movie Industry: Lawsuits, Damaged Relationships, and the Power of Streaming Services
The pandemic brought many of the daily activities we enjoyed to a halt during the various quarantines. Even now, those same activities aren’t quite the same after coronavirus swept through the United States. Although half of the country has gotten vaccinated and some activities have returned to normal, we see the hit the movie theater industry has taken. As a result, we have seen an enormous increase in the use of streaming services as a way to be able to watch media without having to be in large indoor gatherings.
This was brought to light with the recent lawsuit against Walt Disney Co. from Scarlett Johansson. Recently, according to a lawsuit Johansson filed against Disney, “her compensation for her starring role in Marvel Studios new film “Black Widow” was to be largely based on “box office” receipts.” Marvel, a subsidiary of Disney, allegedly agreed to do a “theatrical release,” meaning that it would only exclusively be played in movie theaters.
Johansson claims that Disney knew about the promise and agreed to it, but still directed Marvel to release “Black Widow'' on their Disney+ streaming service the same day it was released in theaters. Disney's press release said that Disney+ Premier Access made $60 million on that first weekend alone from streaming the movie.
Therefore, the complaint states that the release on Disney’s streaming service pulled fans away from the theater, and as a result, pulled all that money away from Johansson. Since her compensation was tied to box office receipts, Disney’s decision to release the movie on their streaming service significantly cost her.
Disney’s response was quick to defend their decision by pointing out Covid as well claiming that Johansson was endangering people who wanted to avoid catching the virus by staying at home to watch the movie for their own safety. "There is no merit whatsoever to this filing," Disney said in response. “The lawsuit is especially sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.” Disney then made sure to refer to “the $20 million she [Johansson] has received to date.”
Now, if Johansson’s allegations prove true, then she does have the right to pursue action in court. A deal is a deal, even if Johansson made $20 million from the movie, it still isn’t okay for a party to breach a contract and say that it’s justified because the other party is rich (even though Disney is way richer than Johansson). However, while Disney has continued to make Johannson out to be solely caring about the money and could have gone back on their deal, they are correct in the fact that streaming services are a much safer alternative to watching movies than going to the theaters.
So what is the correct course of action? Well, if allegations prove to be true, then Disney should compensate her for the lost money, which has more to do with principle. But Disney was smart in releasing movies on their streaming platform during a time when going to the theaters isn’t necessarily the best option - especially for those who are immune-compromised.
Earlier this year, the CEO of WarnerMedia announced that they would release all 17 of their feature films on HBO Max for the first thirty days while they were in theaters. Christopher Nolan, whose movie “Tenant” was put on hold due to the pandemic, was a vocal critic. The dynamic between streaming services, movie theaters, and all the production companies, filmmakers, talent and their reps are now in an upheaval. But it’s time for us all to learn that we do not have a new normal anymore as a result of this pandemic and the way things used to be done isn’t really the most optimal solution to keeping everyone safe.
The truth is that the movie theater industry is dying. And it’s been happening even before the pandemic. But now especially with the Covid delta variant beginning to pick up speed in the United States, especially in areas with lower vaccination rates, we might see even a quicker death for the movie theater industry.
Unfortunately, the future of the movie theater industry looks bleak, especially considering that half the country has not received or is not eligible for a vaccine against Covid. If consumers, filmmakers, actors, actresses, and all the backstage production ensemble want to return to the movie theater atmosphere we had pre-pandemic, then it is possible, but only with everyone vaccinated, wearing masks, and social distancing.
