The ScarJo effect?
Disney might just be confident that moviegoing is going to make a comeback, but they might also be wary of lawsuits, and the perils of releasing movies simultaneously on streaming services and in theaters. Earlier this year Disney found itself being sued by one of its top stars — Scarlett Johansson — who alleged that Disney had broken her contract by releasing Black Widow on Disney's streaming service. That likely diminished the box office receipts for the movie — which were directly tied to her pay packet.
Disney's announcement will turn heads at its competition too — as Disney has dominated the box office for much of the last 5 years, thanks to enormous hauls from its Marvel, Star Wars and animated franchises.
The chart above plots the US box office take for the top 10 movies in each of the last 5 years (and 2021 so far). Of those 60 movies, Disney made 25 of them, taking the top two spots in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. If Disney is betting on the box office, over streaming, others are likely to sit up and take note.
Elsewhere, Broadway is back. Tuesday saw Hamilton, The Lion King and Wicked all return to the stage for the first time since the start of the pandemic. That's great news for live theater, which couldn't exactly move online in the same way that the rest of the entertainment industry did.
