Bob Chapek, CEO of Disney, defended the company’s decision to go with a hybrid release for Black Widow. The film, a prequel to the Marvel’s Avengers films, was released on July 9 in theatres and on Disney+ simultaneously.
During a call with the investors on Thursday, Chapek said the company had decided on this strategy after determining it would enable them to reach the “broadest possible audience.”
This follows Scarlett Johansson‘s lawsuit against Disney over breach of contract. Johansson said her agreement with Disney-owned Marvel Entertainment came with the guarantee that the film would have an exclusive theatrical release, with the box-office performance determining her salary. She alleged that the simultaneous release was an intentional breach of the agreement to prevent her from realising “the full benefit of her bargain with Marvel.”
Disney responded to the actor’s statement at the time by calling it “sad and callous” for failing to consider the global impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
On Thursday’s call, Chapek, who was named the CEO of The Walt Disney Company in 2020, after Bob Iger, the current executive chairman, stepped down from the position, said, “Both Bob Iger and I, along with the leaders of our creative distribution teams, determined this was the right strategy because it would enable us to reach the broadest possible audience. And just to reiterate, distribution decisions are made on a film-to-film basis, based on global market health conditions, and considering the area.”
Not naming Johansson or Black Widow, Chapek added that such decisions will be taken “in the best interest of the film and the best interest of the constituents.”
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Disney also followed the hybrid release model for films such as Cruella, Black Widow, and Jungle Cruise.
In response to an investor’s query about how the company compensated its talent, Chapek said, “Just like we’ve done many times before as the business has evolved and transformed, we’ve figured out ways to fairly compensate our talent so that no matter what the business model, everybody feels satisfied.”
Chapek explained in the call that Disney’s “three-pronged” strategy to release its films came after the pandemic hit in 2020, taking into account the reluctance on the audience’s part to return to cinema halls.
The three-pronged release model includes a “theatrical release, direct to Disney+, and a hybrid of theatrical plus premier access.”