'Friday the 13th' producers sue Warner Bros. and Paramount

Sean Cunningham, producer and co-creator of Friday the 13th, is suing Warner Bros. and Paramount, alleging the two companies have "systematically miscalculated" the franchise's revenue over decades.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Cunningham has filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court. He claims that Warner and Paramount are using what is known as "Hollywood bookkeeping." Studios often claim far less revenue than a movie actually makes, and underreport elements like merchandise and TV revenue. As a result, roles like producers who are required to participate in the revenue share actually receive much less. Cunningham claims that the series' revenue is higher than $129 million.

This is the second Friday the 13th lawsuit filed by Cunningham in recent years. In 2016, Cunningham sued Victor Miller, who wrote the screenplay for the first film in 1980. Cunningham said Miller was only a hired writer and did not have copyright to the plot and characters of the first film, and Miller is trying to prove his ownership of those. The case is currently listed as "pending."

Miller's lawsuit also means that the series is currently on hold. The rebooted Friday the 13th was released in 2009. In 2018, producer Andrew Form said that "the rights situation is a bit messy", but "I really think another version of Friday the 13th needs to happen". The new film in the series was originally scheduled to be released in 2015, but was eventually withdrawn and postponed several times.