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Gerard Butler sues Olympus Has Fallen producers over unpaid profits

Gerard Butler sues Olympus Has Fallen producers over unpaid profits

Future entries in the Has Fallen franchise (yes, that's what it's called) may have to be put on hold. Gerard Butler is suing the producers of the 2013 blockbuster Olympus Has Fallen, claiming he is owed at least $10 million in unpaid profits from the film.

Butler's lawsuit, filed Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court, names production companies Nu Image, Millennium Media, and Padre Nuestro Productions as defendants, claiming they "have earned tens of millions of dollars from Olympus, but refuse to pay Butler a penny of the grosses and profits promised to him in the parties' agreement."

Butler starred in and produced Olympus Has Fallen, which earned more than $170 million at the box office. It is a customary practice in Hollywood for stars to receive a portion of movies' box office revenues, which can potentially total more than their salaries in the case of a blockbuster.

Phil Caruso/FilmDistrict/Courtesy Everett Collection Gerard Butler in 'Olympus Has Fallen'

Butler's lawsuit claims Olympus' producers "never intended to pay Butler his share of the grosses and profits," and instead "grossly misrepresent[ed] the finances of the film" to the star so he "would believe that no such payments were due." The complaint alleges fraud and breach of contract, calls for more than $10 million in damages, and seeks a trial by jury.

Representatives for Millennium Media did not immediately respond to EW's request for comment.

Olympus Has Fallen follows a disgraced Secret Service agent (Butler) who must rescue the President from a besieged White House. The film spawned two sequels to date (2016's London Has Fallen and 2019's Angel Has Fallen) with more in the works.

"Yeah, I think you will be seeing another," Butler told EW in 2020. "We're toying away with another really fantastic idea that we're working on at the moment that obviously we can't say too much about."

Butler's lawsuit comes in the wake of the news that Scarlett Johansson is suing Disney over Black Widow's streaming release, alleging that the studio breached her contract by releasing the film in theaters and on Disney+ at the same time.

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