The British actor is taking on the producers of his hugely successful Has Fallen film franchise in a fraud case that is likely to further rock Hollywood which is witnessing Scarlett Johansson taking on Disney
Video Unavailable
London gets blown up BIG TIME in the first trailer for ‘London Has Fallen’
Gerard Butler is suing the producers of his hit film Olympus Has Fallen – with the news coming hot on the heels of Scarlett Johansson’s bold move to sue Disney over lost profits.
The 51-year-old Scottish actor has set his sights on Nu Image, Millennium Film and and Padre Nuestro Productions who make the Has Fallen film series which has thus far raked in over half a billion dollars at the Box Office.
Gerard plays United States Secret Service agent Mike Banning in the film series which sees him foiling high stakes terrorist plots with Olympus Has Fallen released in 2013, London Has Fallen following in 2016, and Angel Has Fallen released in 2019 – with a further sequel titled Night Has Fallen due to release in the near future.
The first film was made on a budget of $70 million (£50.3 million) and raked in over $170 million (£122 million) at the box office – and now Gerard has filed a fraud case in which he claims he is owed at least $10 million (£7.9 million) in profits.
The Hollywood Reporter states: “Butler brings a fraud claim with the assertion that defendants Nu Image, Millennium Media and Padre Nuestro Productions never intended to pay him net profits.
“The film has grossed about $170 million worldwide, yet he says he hasn’t seen a penny in net profits, with an audit of accounting statements raising flags in multiple areas on the revenue side, both domestically and foreign.”
While Deadline reports: “Producers have earned tens of millions of dollars from Olympus, but refuse to pay Butler a penny of the profits promised to him in the parties’ agreement.
(
Image:
Daily Record)
“Producers embarked on a scheme designed to grossly misrepresent the finances of the Film to Butler, so that Butler would believe that no such payments were due.”
Suing major film studios is in vogue at present in Hollywood, with A List star Scarlett Johansson currently locking horns with Disney.
The 36-year-old took aim at the House of Mouse over the fact they released her latest film, Black Widow, on their streaming service at the same time as releasing the film in cinemas.
The star claims she has lost out on a reported £36 million in lost profits and claims the company is in breach of contract.
The move by Scarlett has sparked speculation that Emma Stone and Emily Blunt could follow suit to sue Disney as their films, Cruella and Jungle Cruise, respectively, were also released on Disney+ at the same time as releasing in cinemas.
(
Image:
Getty Images)
The Hollywood Reporter has branded Scarlett’s case against Disney as “game-changing” – but they are backing the legendary production company to win the legal battle.
Disney, the parent company of Marvel, had previously delayed the release of Black Widow due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and has released a number of big-screen titles on their streaming service while the world has been in lockdown.
Other major production companies – including WarnerMedia who own HBO Max and Warner Bros – have also made the decision to make films available to watch at home on the same day as the flicks hit the big-screen in response to the ongoing pandemic.
