Tuesday night saw the airing of NBC and E!'s People's Choice Awards show of 2021, the first time the award show was broadcast across both channels simultaneously. The big winner of the night was Black Widow, which won the coveted prize of The Movie of 2021 while its star, Scarlett Johansson, won the Female Movie Star Award.
Disney and Marvel Studios' Black Widow hit the big screen in July this year and grossed an impressive $379.6 million at the global box office. A huge commercial success, the superhero blockbuster was the third-highest-grossing film in the US this year, at one point, and also had the most ticket presales of 2021, surpassing the total of previous MCU hits Doctor Strange (2016) and Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017). While it was successful in these terms, many fans thought the standalone Black Widow movie came too late, arriving after the character had died in the main timeline and being somewhat of an outdated prequel.
The People's Choice Awards is awards show that recognizes achievements, mostly by people, across movies, TV, music, and pop culture, with the entirety of the accolades being voted for online by the general public. Upon winning the award for People's Choice Female Movie Star, Johansson gave a speech saying how exciting it was for her because she makes movies for the movie-goers, the ones who voted for her. Reminiscing on her decade-long journey with Marvel, which started with her appearance in Jon Favreau's Iron Man 2 (2010), Johansson said how she was initially unsure how the character would be perceived and how this was a gratifying win for her.
The wins are particularly interesting in the context of the infamous Johansson vs. Disney lawsuit this summer. The legal action came about after Disney made the decision to release Black Widow on Disney Plus for an additional fee, as well as in theaters. Johansson's salary for the movie was tied to theater box office sales, where it was originally supposed to be exclusively released. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and its huge detrimental impact on cinemas meant that the studio made the decision to release the movie on its streaming service too, prompting Johansson to sue on the basis of contract breach.
The actress and Disney eventually reached a settlement out of court, which Johansson recently opened up about, saying it was important for her to stand up for herself. Many praised Johansson for the action she took and the precedent she set against mega studios taking advantage of actors.
Black Widow was bittersweet for Johansson, as it was her last outing as the fan-favorite character, and with Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova's role in the movie, it is widely understood that the Black Widow torch will be passed on to her. However, Johansson did recently insinuate she was open to future collaboration with Marvel, and with the further development of the multiverse and its associated mix of timelines and stories to look forward to, fans may once again see a version of Johansson's Romanoff.
Black Widow is currently available to stream on Disney Plus.
Source: People's Choice Awards