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Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Accounting…

Twenty years ago, films by Scorsese, Soderbergh, and Michael Mann collectively grossed half a billion dollars at the worldwide box office. This month, Lionsgate and Content Partners are getting dragged into court over their share of the pie.

ali movie will smith
H89RDK Ali, (ALI) USA 2001, Regie: Michael Mann, WILL SMITH, Stichwort: Boxer Photo: United Archives GmbH / Alamy Stock Photo
Eriq Gardner
April 8, 2024

Back when I was legal editor at The Hollywood Reporter, few subjects caused me a bigger headache than the intricacies of deceptive accounting. While stories of industry veterans being swindled were abundant and undeniably captivating, the difficulty of unraveling these complex schemes made them particularly taxing. To be honest, back then I thought the days of public courtroom battles were numbered—not only because streamers have resisted sharing profits altogether, but also due to the prevalence of arbitration. But it seems I was mistaken.