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The entertainment industry is in an unprecedented place, with studios and theaters alike attempting to find a new normal. Blockbusters have started arriving in theaters, including Cate Shortland’s Black Widow movie. Scarlett Johansson is suing Disney for the movie’s release on Disney+, and that lawsuit continues making waves in Hollywood as Terminator and The Walking Dead producer Gale Anne Hurd shared her own thoughts.
Scarlett Johansson has spent a decade in the MCU, and the release of Black Widow was expected to be her biggest payout yet. Unfortunately, pirating and the movie’s release on Disney+ seemingly resulted in a steep box office drop after the first weekend in theaters. Now Johansson is suing for the money lost as a result of this decision, and she’s breaking the internet in the process. Accomplished producer Gale Anne Hurd was recently asked her opinion on the subject, responding with:
Why should anyone be surprised? I heard Disney leaked her salary is $20 million, but why is that so surprising? She opens movies around the world, she is clearly someone who can do so with consistency, and no one questions male actors’ salaries. I do think that women are judged differently to men in the entertainment industry. Progress is going to take time, you don’t change people’s attitudes and their perceptions and the biases they already have overnight. However, we’re making a great deal of progress towards that. So many more films, whether they be Nomadland or Wonder Woman, are led by women and are proving successful. You have the DC universe starring women, the Marvel universe starring women, and then you have Oscar winners starring women.
Well, there you have it. As someone who understands the film and TV industry intimately, it doesn’t seem that Gale Anne Hurd was surprised by the legal battle that’s starting between Scarlett Johansson and the powers that be at Marvel/Disney. What’s more, Hurd seems to think that Johansson’s treatment in response wouldn’t have occurred if it were one of the male Marvel stars.
Gale Anne Hurd’s comments to Variety help to peel back the curtain on what it’s like working on a major movie blockbuster. News of Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow lawsuit was mind-blowing for fans, but industry insiders like Hurd aren’t so surprised. We’ll just have to wait and see how the legal proceedings ultimately pan out.
Black Widow is currently available for an additional price on Disney+. You can use this link to sign up for the streaming service.
In her comments, Gale Anne Hurd specifically brought up the way that women in the film industry are treated when compared to their male counterparts. What’s more, she believes that the backlash Scarlett Johansson has experienced is at least partly due to that bias.
After all, Scarlett Johansson isn’t the only A-listers who is making big money deals with blockbusters within the MCU. Robert Downey Jr. had a deal that entitled him to a percentage of Avengers: Endgame’s profits, which became the highest grossing movie of all time. And if ScarJo was similarly entitled to the box office draw of Black Widow, the movie being sent to streaming was no likely a fiscal blow.
Black Widow is in theaters now, and the next installment in the MCU will be Shang-Chi. In the meantime, check out the 2021 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
