Disney has announced that “Black Widow” and “Cruella” on Disney+ after months of hemming and hawing over the two films. Black Widow should have played in cinemas months ago but was of course delayed by Covid. The movie will be only the second Disney Marvel Feature out of 23 with a woman as the lead follows Mulan and Raya And The Last Dragon as Disney premier entries, which are available through Disney+ for $30.00. The move towards premier access is an attempt to make up the money it would otherwise lose at the box office due to lackluster attendance due to crowd size restrictions or the fears of the overall movie-going population. Some major exhibition chains like Regal and Cinemark have been closed for months saying they actually lose less money being closed than being open with almost nobody going and or buying concessions.
Disney though may be digging itself into a PR problem. Because there is a pattern. Mulan, Cruella Black Widow. Do you see the pattern? When Disney makes a move to put a movie in the premier access pile it has been a film headed by a woman. There has been no talk of releasing any films headed up by men on TV. Heck, even the animated Raya and the Last Dragon features a female lead. Is it just a coincidence? There has been absolutely no talk of releasing any other Marvel project in this way other than the actual TV shows for Disney+. Warner Brothers of course is putting its entire lineup on HBO Max. It started with Wonder Woman but it includes Godzilla Vs Kong, Judas and The Black Messiah, Dune, etc.
Women in Hollywood have loudly complained that they do not get treated with the same respect as their male co-stars and have pointed to ageism among other issues at play. With the most powerful studio in Hollywood shunting female-led films to the side and saying “This will be fine,” it sets a strange precedent. Not that there have not been other films staring men that played on premium on-demand video this year. Most notably Tom Hanks in Greyhound. But if someone were to point the finger at Disney and ask why not release Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings (that really rolls off the tongue) this summer the same way it might start sweating under those mouse ears. Does Disney think Scarlet Johansson is not worth a wide theatrical release later? Especially for a movie that does not even take place in the timeline of the current MCU?
