But not everyone is celebrating. Many of the stars and producers of these movies, including Tom Cruise, Sandra Bullock and the creators ofbelieve they are going to miss out on millions of dollars because of a deal between Paramount and the cable channel Epix.
Movie stars, producers and filmmakers often get a cut of the profits from their movies, including a share of digital sales and licensing to third parties. Those paydays can amount to tens of millions of dollars on a big movie like, starring Bullock. Profit participants in Paramount movies believe their earnings are below what they should be because the studio is receiving less from Epix than other studios are getting in similar deals, according to several people familiar with the conversations. Representatives for the actors have met with Paramount to ask for extra money, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are ongoing.
While no one has threatened a lawsuit yet, lawyers are assessing their options. One possibility is that Hollywood labour unions will take action. Guilds also collect residuals on these movies, and Paramount’s deal with Epix means they too may have also missed out on millions of dollars relative to what they get from other studios. The guilds declined to comment.
Lawyers and agents have always bemoaned “Hollywood accounting” in which studios overstate costs and disguise profits so as not to share proceeds with financial partners. Both sides would rather avoid a lawsuit, but there have been some big cases over the last decade. AMC Networks was forced to