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Disney’s Jungle Cruise has floated to the top of the box office this weekend with a $90 million global debut.
The film earned a better-than-expected $34.2 million in its domestic box office and $27.6 million internationally. Meanwhile, consumers who chose to pay $29.99 to watch the film through Disney+’s Premier Access accounted for over $30 million of the film’s total proceeds.
Dwayne Johnson is Frank Wolff and Emily Blunt is Lily Houghton in Disney’s JUNGLE CRUISE. Photo by Frank Masi. (© 2021 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Jungle Cruise, which is inspired by the famous Disneyland theme park ride and stars Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, is the latest film to test out the media giant’s simultaneous theatrical and streaming release, following Cruella, starring Emma Stone, and Marvel’s Black Widow, starring Scarlett Johansson.
The hybrid release strategy was implemented after movie theaters across the globe were forced to shutter due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The film’s opening weekend results come in well below Black Widow’s $215 million debut. The Marvel blockbuster racked up $80 million domestically, $78 million internationally, and over $60 million from Disney+ Premier Access.
This image released by Marvel Studios shows Scarlett Johansson in a scene from “Black Widow.” () (Jay Maidment/Marvel Studios-Disney via AP / AP Images)
Disney’s announcement comes days after Johansson filed a lawsuit against Disney alleging Black Widow’s streaming release breached her contract’s provision of an exclusive theatrical release. Additionally, the suit notes that a portion of the 36-year-old Marvel star’s salary hinges on the success of box office sales.
“Disney intentionally induced Marvel’s breach of the agreement, without justification, in order to prevent Ms. Johansson from realizing the full benefit of her bargain with Marvel,” the suit said according to the Wall Street Journal.
Reps for Johansson reportedly tried to renegotiate her contract but Disney and Marvel were “unresponsive,” according to the documents.
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Following the suit, the House of Mouse issued their own statement, arguing the filing has “no merit whatsoever.”
“The lawsuit is especially sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the Covid-19 pandemic,” Disney said.
The company added that it has “fully complied with Ms. Johansson’s contract” and that Black Widow’s release on Disney+ with Premiere Access “significantly enhanced her ability to earn additional compensation on top of the $20M she has received to date.”
Deadline reports that Johannson’s agent, Bryan Lourd, has fired back at Disney, arguing they “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” and attempted to “weaponize her success as an artist and businesswoman” with the inclusion of her salary in their statement.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIS | THE WALT DISNEY CO. | 176.02 | -2.33 | -1.31% |
While Johannson has filed suit for Black Widow, Deadline reports that Dwayne Johnson and his company Seven Bucks Productions, which co-produced Jungle Cruise, have “no intention” of suing Disney for Jungle Cruise’s release. Meanwhile, former Hollywood Reporter editor Matthew Belloni has claimed in his industry newsletter What I’m Hearing that Johnson’s co-star Emily Blunt and Cruella star Emma Stone are mulling their options.
Representatives for Johnson, Blunt and Stone did not immediately return FOX Business’ requests for comment.
Fox Business’ Jessica Napoli contributed to this report.