NEWS: Disney Named in Another Lawsuit

The Walt Disney Company is no stranger to lawsuits.

There are currently two lawsuits involving Disney and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Annual Passholders have sued the company, and a Magic Key lawsuit was recently settled. It looks like Disney’s legal troubles aren’t letting up anytime soon, as they’ve been named in yet another lawsuit — here’s what we know.

According to Deadline, Disney has been hit with another lawsuit. Film financier TSG has claimed in Los Angeles Superior Court that the company used “nearly every trick in the Hollywood accounting book” to “hoard hundreds of millions in profit.”

©Disney

TSG alleges that Disney made certain business moves with the purpose of bolstering its own streaming service. Apparently, the company spent $3.3 billion to help finance 140 projects at Fox (owned by Disney) including Avatar: The Way of Water, Bohemian Rhapsody, Deadpool, The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Shape of Water.

©Disney

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation and The Walt Disney Company have been named as defendants, and as of this writing Disney has not made any comments regarding the case.

The suit is reminiscent of one brought by Scarlett Johansson which was later settled. Both center around distribution and theatrical windows versus streaming releases.

“This windowing of film distribution is designed to maximize profits for the studios (and for stakeholders like TSG) by preventing one distribution revenue stream from cannibalizing another,” reads the lawsuit. “When windows are collapsed on one another, however, the studio (and its investors) miss out on significant potential sources of revenue.”

TSG is also contending that a lack of cash flow impaired the company’s ability to invest in films like Avatar: The Way of Water, which later became a global hit.