'Black Widow' joins the streaming battle, but nobody's sure what winning looks like

Wonder Woman, Mulan and now Black Widow have all been enlisted to help power streaming services. Yet despite that high-profile roster of heroes, it's a battle the studios deploying them appear somewhat conflicted about winning.

Disney has announced that "Black Widow," the eagerly anticipated Marvel prequel starring Scarlett Johansson, will receive a simultaneous streaming release via Disney+ -- for a $30 premium -- in addition to hitting movie theaters in July. The model builds on what Warner Bros. tried with "Wonder Woman 1984" on HBO Max, minus the extra fee, and the exclusive $30 experiment with Disney's live-action "Mulan" in September. The announcement -- and indeed, the last year of "Will they or won't they?" speculation about shifting major titles to streaming during the pandemic -- has unleashed a new round of discussion about what the right price should be for the privilege of watching such movies at home.