Boardwalk Times: Stories from the Seashore — ‘Black Widow’ Box Office Saga & Disney Making Lake Nona Campus

Feb 08, 2022

Originally published on July 31, 2021.

Welcome back to Boardwalk Times: Stories from the Seashore! In this month’s newsletter, we will be diving into Black Widow’s box office and the Scarlett Johansson suing saga that followed. We will also dive into Disney’s polarizing decision to move a good amount of its Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products division to a new campus in Lake Nona, Florida. All that plus some great Links of the Month in this edition of Boardwalk Times: Stories from the Seashore!

Black Widow made $80 million on its opening weekend. The biggest box office weekend during the pandemic era. Black Widow made $78 million in its opening weekend from international audiences. Black Widow also made an additional $60 million through Disney+ Premier Access. Disney+ Premier Access is Disney+’s upcharge service that allows consumers to buy the film for $29.99 and watch it at home.

Black Widow’s box office performance was promising until it wasn’t.

Black Widow’s next weekend at the box office sharply fell off bringing in only $25 million, the weekend after that was $11 million. It’s clear Disney+ Premier Access and it being the most pirated film of the pandemic era didn’t help the box office.

Disney had the patience on Black Widow though and it at least has made some money. Not as much as other Marvel Studios films but that was expected in our new world. People are still getting comfortable with going out again. And hopefully, we don’t hit any snafus with getting back to normal.

Disney could’ve dropped Black Widow on Disney+ free of charge. God, that would’ve made Feige and ScarJo even madder. The payout for ScarJo would’ve been huge too. At least Disney has made $320 million so far on Black Widow. But for chilling context, that number is less than 2019’s live-action remake of Dumbo ($353M). We are still in pandemic-era times and we don’t know the full picture of Disney+ Premier Access but I’d assume the company would’ve touted $100 million on Disney+ Premier Access by now if it had happened.

Is that $60 million enough to justify Marvel films not having theatrical exclusivity? I don’t think so. It’s clear Disney left money on the table with this one.

That is why Scarlett Johansson, the star of Black Widow, is taking matters into her own hands as she is suing Disney over breach of contract. Scarlett Johansson is claiming that the move to put Black Widow on Disney+ Premier Access cost her $50 million. (You can read the lawsuit here)

Obviously, Disney had a spokesperson fire back at the ScarJo lawsuit:

“There is no merit whatsoever to this filing. The lawsuit is especially sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Disney has fully complied with Ms. Johansson’s contract and furthermore, the release of Black Widow on Disney+ with Premier Access has significantly enhanced her ability to earn additional compensation on top of the $20M she has received to date.”

ScarJo’s agent Bryan Lourd responded back to Disney:

I want to address the Walt Disney Company’s statement that was issued in response to the lawsuit filed against them yesterday by our client Scarlett Johansson. They have shamelessly and falsely accused Ms. Johansson of being insensitive to the global COVID pandemic, in an attempt to make her appear to be someone they and I know she isn’t.
Scarlett has been Disney’s partner on nine movies, which have earned Disney and its shareholders billions. The company included her salary in their press statement in an attempt to weaponize her success as an artist and businesswoman, as if that were something she should be ashamed of. Scarlett is extremely proud of the work that she, and all of the actors, writers, directors, producers, and the Marvel creative team have been a part of for well over a decade.
This suit was filed as a result of Disney’s decision to knowingly violate Scarlett’s contract. They have very deliberately moved the revenue stream and profits to the Disney+ side of the company leaving artistic and financial partners out of their new equation. That’s it, pure and simple.
Disney’s direct attack on her character and all else they implied is beneath the company that many of us in the creative community have worked with successfully for decades.

Johansson claimed that she was promised a theatrical release. The lawsuit also reveals that ScarJo and her team were worried that Black Widow could end up on Disney+ to juice the stock in the pre-pandemic world. The lawsuit claims that Disney intentionally did the Disney+ Premier Access to avoid paying ScarJo. It’s a pretty compelling case. The lawsuit also mentions how the success of Disney+ and its goals are directly tied to Bob Iger and Bob Chapek’s compensation.

In Matthew Belloni’s newsletter What I’m Hearing (which is a fantastic read, by the way). Belloni wrote Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige was “embarrassed” and “angry” over Disney’s handling of the Black Widow situation. Feige was always against the hybrid release model. He was also upset that Disney didn’t take care of his talent in this situation.

Kevin Feige with Scarlett Johansson (People)

Feige is arguably Disney’s most valuable player right now. He’s the frontrunner for Disney MVP 2021. Disney CEO Bob Chapek can’t afford to upset Feige. He controls too much of Disney’s present and future.

This ScarJo vs Disney saga could also lead to more lawsuits. Belloni also reported that Emma Stone and Emily Blunt are weighing their options. Although I don’t think Cruella was going to ever be an overwhelming box office success. Jungle Cruise is a different story. That film has potential and it will be interesting to see how it performs both at the box office and on Disney+ Premier Access.

Speaking of Disney+ Premier Access, it’s going to be fascinating to see how Disney implements this strategy in the future after Black Widow/Jungle Cruise. I still think Disney’s best strategy is either direct-to-SVOD or direct-to-theaters. I think premium video-on-demand isn’t sustainable for every Disney film.

Shang-Chi was already promised an exclusive theatrical release. Hopefully, Disney doesn’t use the Delta variant as an excuse to walk back on its promise. I also don’t think Feige would be too please with another one of his titles getting sacrificed on Disney+ Premier Access. Eternals has a massive cast that almost needs to be theatrical exclusive. I can’t see Marvel Studios films ending up on Premier Access after the Black Widow saga.

I think we could see Walt Disney Animation Studios Encanto end up as a theatrical/Disney+ Premier Access release. Disney’s potential synergy use could include that Lin-Manuel Miranda performed well for Disney+ with Hamilton. Encanto would essentially be following in Raya and the Last Dragon’s footsteps. Not to mention the success of Soul and Luca shows that animation on streaming has tons of potential.

Turning Red should mark Pixar’s return to theaters. But what if it marks Pixar’s first time on Disney+ Premier Access too? I think that isn’t outside the realm of possibility at this rate.

In the end, Disney has learned its lessons from Black Widow. There is a reason why people say “In Feige We Trust.” But seriously it’s clear that Disney has to renegotiate these contracts if they want a more hybrid future. Although it still seems like their best chance at major money success is at the box office. This is an issue that could’ve been avoided. I’m sure Disney is wishing they would’ve just listened to Feige’s advice.

All eyes are on Jungle Cruise and Shang-Chi to see how they perform at the box office. It’s clear that Disney still has challenges ahead but I think their biggest is repairing their relationships with their creative partners and one of their most valuable employees in Feige.

What will Black Widow finish with at the box office? It’s hard to tell but those steep declines aren’t looking good. Unless Disney rushes out impressive Premier Access numbers (which they definitely won’t do now).

Black Widow will likely be chalked up to be another experiment for Disney in the end. Until we are fully out of this pandemic it’s hard to call some things a success and other things failure. Especially when we are dealing with a new era full of new strategies.

Disney moves DPEP roles to Florida

Earlier this month, Disney confirmed its plans to relocate 2,000 employees from California to Lake Nona, Florida. The employees (cast members) will be hailing from the Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products division. That division includes Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Shanghai Disney Resort, Disneyland Paris, Tokyo Disney Resort, Hong Kong Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, Disney Vacation Club, Aulani, Adventures by Disney, Walt Disney Imagineering, Disney Publishing Worldwide, and Disney Store.

The move will affect over 2,000 employees who have 18 months to make a decision on whether or not they will make the move to Lake Nona. I couldn’t imagine making that decision especially if I had a family already settled in California. It’s one thing to be single and to get asked to move across the country, it’s a whole different story when other family members are involved. Not to mention some of these leaders and Imagineers have probably been in California for years. It’s truly a tough decision.

I think we will see a mix of employees make the move to Lake Nona, some will move on from Disney entirely, some will ask for significant raises, and some will try to stay with Disney but in California. 18 months seems like a lot of time but from my own personal experiences, 18 months will feel like a flash for the many making this tough decision.

As I briefly mentioned in the previous paragraph, there will still be a group of Imagineers and roles working from California and Walt Disney Imagineering’s famous Flower Street building. New York Times reporter Brooks Barnes confirmed the iconic building would stay.

We will see a variety of DPEP roles get moved to this new Lake Nona campus. The new campus is slated to be around 300,000 to 400,000 square feet and cost Disney around $864 million. Disney will also receive tax breaks up to $570 million. Disney is moving into a more “business-friendly” climate in Florida than it had in California.

One of the major benefits of the move to Lake Nona is that Walt Disney World will get more time, care, and attention. It’s already Disney’s crown jewel resort but with Imagineers and more cast members nearby it will become even better.

I’ve also seen some concerns raised that Imagineering won’t be able to thrive in Florida because it doesn’t have the same creative culture as California… Which all I have to say to that is this. If your environment determines your creativity maybe you’re not as creative as you think you are. Plus Imagineers have been able to do plenty of good work from Florida. This seems like a silly non-issue.

WDI and DPEP’s move could affect its collaborations with Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm which will all still be based in California. I think this is another thing that can be easily sorted out. People can go on work trips remember? I’m sure the collaboration will continue just fine.

I think we could end up seeing more Imagineering and other DPEP leader departures in the leadup to the Lake Nona move. It will officially mark a new era when Disney makes Lake Nona home for the 2,000 Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products cast members. I also think there is potential for more of Disney to move to Florida although having DPEP being stationed in Florida makes a ton of sense.

My final note about Lake Nona for today — although I know I’ll talk about this move more in the future — is that I hope the campus is super nice.