Olympus Has Fallen, a film directed by Antoine Fuqua, is based on the disgraced Secret Service agent Mike Bannon (Butler), who gets trapped in the White House after a terrorist attack and strives hard to rescue the president from kidnappers. The film recorded resounding box office numbers scoring $170.3 million at the global box office.
The lawsuit filed by Greenberg Glusker on behalf of Comrie Inc., Butler, and his G-Base Entertainment claims Butler has seen zero of that total from the film’s producers, defendants Nu Image, Millennium, and Padre Nuestro Productions. The lawsuit includes the following grievances: fraud, breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and intentional interference with contractual relations and accounting. The suit now seeks a jury trial.
Gerard Vs. Nu Image/Millennium Films
Gerard Butler recently alleged that he owes at least $10 million as backend compensation for the 2013 action film Olympus Has Fallen. He slapped Nu Image/Millennium Films with a lawsuit, asserting that the domestic and foreign receipts went up by tens of millions of dollars and did not report the $8 million that its own executives took.
Recently Scarlett Johansson filed a similar suit and slapped a blockbuster compensation lawsuit against the Walt Disney Co., claiming that the producer deprived her of the potential Black Widow box office profits and instead ensured that the Marvel blockbuster was streamed over an OTT platform.
The Truth Behind the Lawsuit
Butler had a blockbuster role in Mike Banning and went on to script major box-office success which gave a boost to his career. The film went on gross at least $170 million worldwide and ensured two more spinoffs of the film, London Has Fallen and Angel Has Fallen, and Butler reprised his role in both of the films.
His chief grievance was that producers have been earning millions of dollars from the film franchise yet they are averse to paying Butler a penny of the grosses and profits when they had initially promised him a part of those as per the parties’ agreement. Butler, as stated in his lawsuit, refuses to tolerate the defendant’s wrongful misdemeanor or conduct, and misrepresentations. His representatives insist that he deserved to be treated better as he has been able to create a highly successful movie franchise.
The Contract Details
As per the suit, Butler’s contract ensured that he deserved at least 10 percent of net profits, along with six percent of domestic adjusted gross receipts above $70 million, and 12 percent of the foreign adjusted gross receipts reaching above $35 million. Not only was he entitled to five percent of net profits, but Butler was also set to receive certain bonuses for reaching the box office yardstick.
The suit alleges that Butler has been receiving irregular accounting statements from the producer and that he has periodically objected to the statements. As per the suit, Butler hired an auditor who found that domestic receipts were reported less by $17.5 million, and producers’ receipts were undermined by $12 million.
The suit claimed that the producers cut down on the full cost of foreign publicity from foreign receipts, even though foreign distributors only spent half of the cost. It also claims that Nu Image/Millennium asked the distributors to deduct certain expenses to ensure that the receipts go underreported.
The Producers Modus Operandi
The suit notes that the producers’ federal court suit failed to declare the profits of Olympus to the Directors Guild of America’s Producers Pension and Health Plan. Was it because they wanted to keep the profits to themselves? Well, that’s what Butler’s lawsuit claims. The producers had answered Butler’s allegation saying there is no merit to his claim. Nu Image has been open and transparent with Mr. Butler and his representatives and has been forthright about the revenue of Olympus Has Fallen which had released in 2013.
Nu Image also provided supportive paperwork to prove their point. The participation statements of Mr. Butler and those statements have been audited by Mr. Butler’s auditors in the wake of the film’s release in 2015 and 2016. The statements prove that they have been fully compliant with the terms of Mr. Butler’s agreement, and it proves that there have not been any undue lapses. They have been supportive of Butler’s endeavors for as long as eight years of their cooperation.
They are disappointed that Mr. Butler has chosen to ignore their past relationship and has gone ahead to file a lawsuit against them. We hope their issue gets resolved soon.