The entertainment industry seems to be facing a weird turn of events, with lawsuits piling up, movies struggling at the office, and the ongoing non-negotiable WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike. Amid such tumultuous times, Disney suffered another lawsuit, following the infamous 2021 legal battle with Scarlett Johansson.
The Black Widow star Scarlett Johansson previously sued Disney for the simultaneous release of her solo MCU movie, in theatres and Disney+, which ended up hampering her salary. Further, the production giant recently faced another reputation-threatening lawsuit from Film Finance Partner, TSG.
Disney Sued By TSG For Hoarding Profits
A recent lawsuit was filed on Tuesday, 15th August, accusing Disney of hindering a deal between 20th Century Studios and TSG Entertainment Finance. According to the lawsuit, TSG sued Disney for shifting its distribution on streaming platforms since the pandemic.
This shift apparently helped the production giant in allegedly hoarding profits by shortening the theatrical windows in favor of streaming profits. According to the claims of TSG, this particular model comes at the expense of financing partners. Thus, the cash shortfall forced TSG to take a worse position in its investment in Avatar: The Way of Water.
The financing company therefore sued 20th Century Studios for the breach of contract and Disney for provoking that breach. With an experience of investing more than $3.3 billion into well over 100 films, TSG thus hired John Berlinski as their attorney, who interestingly led Scarlett Johansson’s fight against Disney and helped her win.
Scarlett Johansson’s 2021 Lawsuit Against Disney
TSG isn’t the first to sue Disney for its playbook tricks, apparently, MCU actress Scarlett Johansson waged a war against the production giant in 2021. According to the complainant, Disney breached their contract by releasing Johansson’s MCU solo movie Black Widow, simultaneously on their streaming platform and the theatres.
Scarlett Johansson thus filed a lawsuit against the company on 29 July 2021. The suit stated, “Disney intentionally induced Marvel’s breach of the agreement, without justification, in order to prevent Ms Johansson from realizing the full benefit of her bargain with Marvel”.
Due to the breach of contract on Disney’s end, the actress suffered a loss of salary, as her payment was based on the box office performance of her film. Although Black Widow opened strong with $80M, the movie later suffered a steep decline dropping 67%, due to the hybrid release.
Further, Scarlett Johansson won her lawsuit against Disney and the two parties resolved the differences after the legal dispute.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter, The Guardian
