Forbidden Empire producers file biggest lawsuit in Russian film industry history

Production company Russian Film Group has filed the biggest lawsuit in Russian film industry history against co-producer Teterin Film over Forbidden Empire, Russia’s highest grossing domestic movie of 2014.

According to the lawsuit, registered by Moscow’s arbitration court last week, Russian Film Group claims that Teterin Film did not meet its contractual obligations for co-financing the film. As a result, Russian Film Group demands payment of a total of 640 million rubles (US$8.5 million), the highest amount demanded in a film industry legal case in Russia.

Russian Film Group contends that Teterin Film’s failure to provide an agreed sum of 34.5 million rubles (about $1.1 million according to the exchange rate at the time) caused the production of the international version of the film to be delayed, leading Russian Film Group to lose a US$13.7 million minimum guarantee from an international distributor.

The international release of the 3D horror movie, loosely based on the story Viy by Nikolai Gogol, was consequently impeded. The film was never released in cinemas in the United States, but rather was released directly on DVD.

According to Russian newspaper Izvestia, attempts to reach a goodwill agreement between the two parties were unsuccessful. Teterin Film has declined to comment.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter