Disney’s latest live-action film, Jungle Cruise, set sail in July, exceeding box office projections upon release in both theaters and Disney+. The movie opened at a respectable $91.8 million ( although failing to match opening weekend figures set by the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) Black Widow, also a Disney film).
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And while Scarlett Johansson has decided to sue Disney for giving Black Widow a day-and-date release, fans believe Jungle Cruise star (and producer) Dwayne Johnson would not be taking similar action regardless of how the movie plays out in the box office. In case he does, however, the move may be seen as hypocritical.
Disney’s Film Release Strategy Has Come Under Heavy Criticism
In response to the pandemic, Disney had decided that it would release some films simultaneously in the theaters and on Disney+. During the company’s earnings call in May, Disney CEO Bob Chapek explained that the strategy was meant to “try to re-prime the pump” while also acknowledging that “the market’s not quite there yet.” The company went on to utilize a day-and-date release when it came to films such as Raya and the Last Dragon, Cruella, Black Widow, and most recently, Jungle Cruise.
When Black Widow was released, expectations were very high considering that the 2019 Marvel films all pulled in more than $1 billion at the box office. And while the movie did better than other films released in the pandemic era, theater owners strongly believed that Black Widow should have earned more. Unfortunately, the movie saw a 41% drop in revenues during its second day of showing and many believed that Disney’s very own Disney+ was to blame. In response, the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) lashed out the House of Mouse, accusing the media conglomerate of “cannibalization.” “
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“Despite assertions that this pandemic-era improvised release strategy was a success for Disney and the simultaneous release model, it demonstrates that an exclusive theatrical release means more revenue for all stakeholders in every cycle of the movie’s life,” NATO said in a statement. “The most important answer is that simultaneous release is a pandemic-era artifact that should be left to history with the pandemic itself.” Despite the criticism, Disney forward with a simultaneous release for Jungle Cruise.
Jungle Cruise Was Dwayne Johnson’s ‘Dream’ Project
Even before he became a movie star, the former WWE wrestler dreamt of doing a “big Disney movie” after seeing the first trailer for Pirates of the Caribbean. As Johnson’s business partner, Seven Bucks Productions president Hiram Garcia, told Polygon, “He was always like, ‘Man, I hope one day I can get to a point where Disney would want to do something like that with me.’” At that time, little did he know that everything would just (magically) fall into place.
The Jungle Cruise just so happens to be Johnson's favorite Disney ride. “And luckily, Disney was in a place where they were interested in trying to get something going with Jungle Cruise,” Garcia explained. “So it all came together. It all came together in a great way just several years later from the first time we talked about it.” Naturally, Johnson took the lead role in the film. Later on, he also got actress Emily Blunt onboard.
Here’s Why He Would Be A Hypocrite If He Takes To Court
Unlike in the case of Johansson who had secured an exclusive theatrical release for her solo Marvel movie, Johnson was well aware of Disney’s plans for Jungle Cruise from the beginning. “DJ was always open to releasing that movie wherever it was safe for audiences to watch it,” Garcia explained to Deadline. “The attitude was to allow the viewer to choose how they wanted to watch it.”
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Being a family film, it made sense for Disney to make the movie available for streaming right away since COVID cases have gone up and children are largely unvaccinated at the moment. Johnson, a family man himself, understood as much. “We wondered, once we got back to the theatrical experience, are the majority of people now going, ‘You know what, I’m good. We’re going to watch it at home’?” the actor explained during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. At the same time, it would be rather ‘hypocritical’ of Johnson to encourage people to watch the movie in theaters since he himself personally prefers to stream movies at home himself. That said, the actor also explained that he generally streams films nowadays because he can never go to a theater without getting recognized and mobbed.
For the record, it is believed that Johnson has no intentions of filing legal action against Disney regardless of how Jungle Cruise does. Sources have told Deadline that Johnson and his company “have no intention of battling Disney for any anticipated loss of dollars on this day-and-date release.” Johnson’s Disney adventure reportedly cost $200 million to make and only time will tell if it will be worth it. As for the future of his movie deals (which have been tied to box office performance in the past), Johnson simply remarked, “We’re all trying to figure it out.”
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