Some of you sound ignorant or hopeful.
Read up on Hollywood Accounting.
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Film studios frequently settle lawsuits out of court regarding the practice of "Hollywood accounting," where they report financial losses on profitable movies to avoid paying backend royalties to actors, producers, and financiers. Examples of such settlements, often driven by accusations of creative accounting, include those involving Disney/Fox, Paramount, and independent production houses. "
Disney/20th Century Studios and TSG Entertainment (2024): Film financier TSG sued Disney, alleging "rampant self-dealing" and accounting tricks that deprived them of profits on films like Avatar: The Way of Water and Bohemian Rhapsody (which was reported as a $51 million loss despite a $911 million gross). The lawsuit was settled out of court in January 2024, with terms undisclosed."
Gerard Butler and Olympus Has Fallen (Nu Image/Millennium Media): Settled in October 2023, this lawsuit alleged a "premeditated scheme" to underreport receipts by over $11 million, with an audit showing millions in payments to executives were hidden.
Peter Jackson and The Lord of the Rings (New Line Cinema): The director sued over withheld profits, including merchandising and DVD sales, leading to an out-of-court settlement in 2005.
Don Johnson and Nash Bridges (Rysher Entertainment): While a jury initially awarded $23.2 million to Johnson in 2010 after the studio wiped profits for the show to reduce his 50% stake to zero, this highlighted the extreme lengths studios go to before settling.
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Without seeing the contracts and what is returned in Discovery, everything is speculation. However, what's ironic is that people saying "that's why you have an accountant for your accountant" not really appreciating the possibility that a getting that additional set of eyes often leads to litigation when they detect irregularities.
That being said, my gut feeling is that he is starting to feel the pinch. I don't believe he's broke, but I think he's in a situation where he has less money than expected which is causing him to do a review of his finances.
