Hollywood Breakdown

Big budget action movies with big stars have traditionally been the bread and butter of Hollywood studios. Now, with films like “Red Notice,” Netflix is trying to make its mark on that blockbuster territory. “Red Notice” stars Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot, and is on track to become Netflix’s most-watched movie, but is that popularity on streaming enough to capture the cultural conversation and launch a franchise?

Late summer and early fall was supposed to be the big return to movie theaters. But with the Delta variant on the rise, Hollywood is in a tough spot. Studios have to decide to put their big movies in theaters, knowing not as many people will come, or sell films to a streaming service and lose out on box office revenue.

Warner Bros. was hoping for a big summer hit with its movie adaptation of the Lin-Manuel Miranda musical “In the Heights.” Instead, the movie fell below expectations and only made $11.4 million at the box office opening weekend. The lack of big stars could have kept people home, as well as the fact that the film was also streaming on HBO Max.

Marvel Studios’ superhero spy thriller “Black Widow” opened last weekend to the tune of $215 million in global revenue. Those earnings come partly due to the film’s dual release in theaters and on Disney+ the same day. While the release initially appears to be a success, a closer look at variables like box office dropoff, multi-person viewing at home, and the pandemic amounted to a muddled narrative. It’s unclear what long-term effects this dual-release model has on the film industry.

Scarlett Johansson, star of “Black Widow,” is suing Disney over the release of the Marvel film. Johansson says Disney’s failure to give the movie an exclusive theatrical release was a breach of contract that cost her $50 million in box office bonuses. “Black Widow” opened in theaters and was available to stream on Disney+ for a $30 charge on the same day. Johansson’s lawsuit is likely just the beginning of a long battle between stars and movie studios over theatrical compensation in the streaming age.