Movies: Black Widow - heading to Disney +

[Scandale du Jour]

Movie theater owners groups are not happy with Disney on this one it seems. They feel that by releasing it at the same time on Disney+ it hurt theaters bottom line. ‘Black Widow’: Theater Owners Blast Disney+ for Steep Drop – The Hollywood Reporter


Not the first time it happens and likely won't be the last.

Well, they better get used to it, because it will happen more and more. Cutting the middle man! Maybe less "revenue", but more profits for the studios.

 

[beowulf]

Well, they better get used to it, because it will happen more and more. Cutting the middle man! Maybe less "revenue", but more profits for the studios.

Personally think it sucks as it hurts theaters that means less local jobs, especially for teenagers and students who most often work at movie theaters.

 

[Scandale du Jour]

Personally think it sucks as it hurts theaters that means less local jobs, especially for teenagers and students who most often work at movie theaters.

I agree, but Disney (and other studios) won't care about that.

The reason why they will keep releasing their big movies on Premiere Access is the same reason they started their own platform in the first place. They now can OWN distribution of their very valuable content and cut the middle man. They'll keep releasing movies in theaters as it is a good revenue stream. What can theaters do? Not take the Disney movies? It would end up hurting them more than it would hurt The Mouse.

It will lower revenues for theaters, but it won't hurt Disney one bit. They will even make more money as they will have two revenue streams instead of one AND one of those does not involve them splitting the money with anyone.

The pandemic gave them the excuse they needed to "test" it and create the habit. To me, it was always part of the long-term strategy when they started Disney+.

I mean, let's say you want to go to the theater as a family, it will cost you much more than buying the moving at home. I know many people like the whole movie-going experience, and they will still go, but MANY MANY MANY people prefer "convenience".

I think people will still go to the theater on dates and stuff like that. It will not kill the industry, but it will impact it negatively.

 

[Guardian17]

I agree, but Disney (and other studios) won't care about that.

The reason why they will keep releasing their big movies on Premiere Access is the same reason they started their own platform in the first place. They now can OWN distribution of their very valuable content and cut the middle man. They'll keep releasing movies in theaters as it is a good revenue stream. What can theaters do? Not take the Disney movies? It would end up hurting them more than it would hurt The Mouse.

It will lower revenues for theaters, but it won't hurt Disney one bit. They will even make more money as they will have two revenue streams instead of one AND one of those does not involve them splitting the money with anyone.

The pandemic gave them the excuse they needed to "test" it and create the habit. To me, it was always part of the long-term strategy when they started Disney+.

I mean, let's say you want to go to the theater as a family, it will cost you much more than buying the moving at home. I know many people like the whole movie-going experience, and they will still go, but MANY MANY MANY people prefer "convenience".

I think people will still go to the theater on dates and stuff like that. It would kill the industry, but it will impact it negatively.

Exactly.

A ticket + food + drink at a movie theater costs way more than the $35 I paid on Disney Plus.

Plus all the other benefits of pausing the movie and not dealing with disrespectful movie goers.

 

[Hivemind]

A ticket + food + drink at a movie theater costs way more than the $35 I paid on Disney Plus.

For a single person? Naw. $12.50 ticket + $7.50 medium popcorn + $6.50 large drink is only $26.50. Expensive, but still well short of the $35. Plus you factor in the cost of your drink and snack at home.

For multiple people? Absolutely, particularly for a full family.

 

[Guardian17]

For a single person? Naw. $12.50 ticket + $7.50 medium popcorn + $6.50 large drink is only $26.50. Expensive, but still well short of the $35. Plus you factor in the cost of your drink and snack at home.

For multiple people? Absolutely, particularly for a full family.

I hate lining up for the theater so I go to a VIP theater where I can choose the seat I want at a charge of $25.

A large drink and a slice of pizza is $20.

So, Disney Plus is cheaper for me.

 

[Hivemind]

I hate lining up for the theater so I go to a VIP theater where I can choose the seat I want at a charge of $25.

A large drink and a slice of pizza is $20.

So, Disney Plus is cheaper for me.

I get to pick my seat (giant recliner) for that same $12.50. Sounds like you’re getting ripped off.

 

[Guardian17]

I get to pick my seat (giant recliner) for that same $12.50. Sounds like you’re getting ripped off.

That's why I love Disney Plus!

 

[beowulf]

I hate lining up for the theater so I go to a VIP theater where I can choose the seat I want at a charge of $25.

A large drink and a slice of pizza is $20.

So, Disney Plus is cheaper for me.

Who lines up anymore? Aren't all cineplex theaters reserved seating now and have been for a while?

Right now tickets, at least here in Ottawa, are cheaper probably to try and get people back in seats as my black widow seat was $10.99.

 

[Martinez]

Loved it. Florence stole the show

 

[Guardian17]

Who lines up anymore? Aren't all cineplex theaters reserved seating now and have been for a while?

Right now tickets, at least here in Ottawa, are cheaper probably to try and get people back in seats as my black widow seat was $10.99.

They still lineup here unless you want to pay extra for picking your seat.

In either case, I'm happy with paying for the convenience of watching at home.

 

[beowulf]

They still lineup here unless you want to pay extra for picking your seat.

In either case, I'm happy with paying for the convenience of watching at home.

Huh I thought they had rolled it out everyone now, in Ottawa we have been able to pick a specific seats since about a year before the pandemic closed the theaters. All the rows have letters and all the seats have numbers now.

 

[Taro Tsujimoto]

So Disney might be in a bit of hot water:

 

[discostu]

So Disney might be in a bit of hot water:

Releasing on both platforms was the responsible thing to do, but, they do have an obligation to anyone involved where compensation was based on box office gross. I expect a settlement will be forthcoming.

 

[Say Hey Kid]

Scarlett Johansson sues Disney over 'Black Widow' streaming release (cnbc.com)

"The lawsuit includes a response from Marvel’s chief counsel, which confirmed “Black Widow” would be released like other MCU films. “We understand that should the plan change, we would need to discuss this with you and come to an understanding as the deal is based on a series of (very large) box office bonuses,” the response reads. Once Johansson heard that “Black Widow” would be released on streaming and in theaters on the same day, she attempted to negotiate with Marvel. Disney and Marvel did not respond, the lawsuit claims. Representatives for Disney did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment."

 

[DoyleG]

So Disney might be in a bit of hot water:

Like we didn't see that coming from a long way.

 

[Jussi]

Scarlett Johansson sues Disney over 'Black Widow' streaming release (cnbc.com)

"The lawsuit includes a response from Marvel’s chief counsel, which confirmed “Black Widow” would be released like other MCU films. “We understand that should the plan change, we would need to discuss this with you and come to an understanding as the deal is based on a series of (very large) box office bonuses,” the response reads. Once Johansson heard that “Black Widow” would be released on streaming and in theaters on the same day, she attempted to negotiate with Marvel. Disney and Marvel did not respond, the lawsuit claims. Representatives for Disney did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment."

Her contract was signed long before Covid surfaced, so streaming was not an issue.

Reading some comments on the filing, which is publicly available, it claims the movie would have made a billion without Disney+ Premier Access which is pretty bonkers in itself. Seems there's some other weird stuff in there as well. Edit: Copied from superherohype forums:

That they did this to hurt the box office on purpose so they wouldn't have to pay her backend.

Since she already paid 20 million for the movie according to Disney, I see them settling on somewhere between 10-30 million for this.

 

[Jumptheshark]

Like we didn't see that coming from a long way.

Reportedly it cost her up to 20 mill--

 

[Jussi]

Reportedly it cost her up to 20 mill--

50 million, if it had made one billion. Disney claim she's already been paid 20 million.

 

[Guardian17]

How is she going to prove that people who watched on Disney Plus would've gone to the theater if it wasn't available on streaming?

If anything, with COVID, the movie made more money thanks to Disney Plus.

 

[Shockmaster]

Disney Slams Scarlett Johansson Over 'Black Widow' Suit - Variety

 

[Jussi]

Full complaint for those who want to read it: https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Complaint_Black-Widow-1-WM.pdf

 

[ItsFineImFine]

Here comes the online smear campaign against the actress now. It's just business when the corporation does it but it's 'vindictiveness' when it's a person.

I'm not quite sure why Disney didn't do the easy thing though and just settle instead of getting the bad publicity but then again hubris is a thing when you get away with it for so long.

 

[Jussi]

Here comes the online smear campaign against the actress now. It's just business when the corporation does it but it's 'vindictiveness' when it's a person.

I'm not quite sure why Disney didn't do the easy thing though and just settle instead of getting the bad publicity but then again hubris is a thing when you get away with it for so long.

Bob Chapek seems to be the reason. There seems to be a lot bad vibes to what he's been doing there.

 

[Mario_is_BACK!!]

Bob Chapek seems to be the reason. There seems to be a lot bad vibes to what he's been doing there.

Im not like a full on Disney head but I dabble as a fan. Not a lot of people like Chapek. It’s all money for him. Which, yes. That’s the goal of the behemoth but even at the parks level people claim to see a difference in cost cutting (things like ride retools taking longer, parks being dirtier, etc).