Without doubt, Focus Features‘ Obsession is the most successful horror movie at the box office of this century. In fact, YouTuber Curry Barker‘s breakout is one of the most successful movies of all time, turning a sub-$1 million budget into over $500 million worldwide. The film broke several incredible records along the way, including becoming the highest-grossing non-animated original film of the past decade, the highest-grossing original horror movie of this century, and the fifth highest-grossing horror film of all time.
But this all-conquering horror sensation isn’t without its issues, the latest of which sees Tea Shop Productions, who made the film alongside Blumhouse Productions and Capstone Studios, taken to court. Specifically, executive producer Leonora Ann Darby is accusing James Harris and Mark Lane of cheating her out of a fair cut from the film’s enormous success. The official filing is a breach of contract complaint submitted to authorities on August 28 in Los Angeles Superior Court.
“This action arises from a seven-year pattern of unequal treatment and broken compensation promises by two older male film producers to a younger female producer whose labor was material to the growth of their company and who rescued their biggest film, the global hit Obsession,” the breach of contract complaint reads. In the 135-page filing, Darby claims that she was onboarded to the company back in 2019 with the promise of being an “equal producer, including with respect to compensation, company direction, project decisions, financial transparency, and access to business opportunities.”
What Else Do the Allegations State?
Specifically, it’s claimed that Darby was promised: “one-third (33.33%) of the net profits due to Tea Shop on films she lead-produced, together with direct participation in the applicable collection account management agreements.” Darby allegedly kept to her end of the bargain between 2019 and 2026, including the originating and developing of projects, onboarding filmmakers, and much more. This includes swooping in to help bring Obsession back on track, which she then claims to have been scammed out of her fair cut of its $510 million global haul. The filing continues:
“These Defendants failed to honor their promises and instead treated Darby as their subordinate, including in a highly demeaning and gendered manner, and continually refused to properly compensate her, culminating in ruthlessly cutting Darby out of the overall net profits for the motion picture Obsession (other than a single initial payment), Tea Shop’s biggest hit and one of the most successful independent films of all time.”
Darby admits to receiving an extra $300,000 payment for Obsession after the film was made, but this would still supposedly be nowhere near her fair cut of its financial triumph.
via Collider