Strange Darling distributor has filed a lawsuit against their marketing partner, feeling the film’s box office could have been improved
Just before Halloween back in 2022, it was announced that Willa Fitzgerald and Kyle Gallner – who both have experience working in the Scream franchise, as Fitzgerald was in the Scream TV series and Gallner appeared in the 2022 Scream movie – were set to star in the “cat and mouse thriller” Strange Darling. The movie was given a theatrical release back in August, and JoBlo’s own Tyler Nichols loved it; you can read his 9/10 review at THIS LINK. It has since moved on to digital and physical media releases… but distributor Magenta Light Productions feels that it should have performed better at the box office, and believe it would have if the film had a better marketing campaign. So they have filed a lawsuit against their marketing partner, Spellbinder.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Magenta Light Productions, in a fraud and breach of contract lawsuit filed this week in Los Angeles Superior Court, is seeking at least $10 million and accuses Spellbinder of “failing to contribute its half of the $2 million marketing spend for the film. It also claims that the company kept some of the funds and bought social media followers and views on various platforms to create the appearance of a successful marketing campaign.” To find out more details, click over to The Hollywood Reporter or the lawsuit document.
Strange Darling made about $3 million during its theatrical run, on a budget of at least $4 million.
The film was written and directed by J.T. Mollner (Outlaws and Angels). Filming took place in Portland, Oregon. Former Miramax CEO Bill Block produced alongside Chris Ivan Cevic, Steven Schneider, Roy Lee, and actor Giovanni Ribisi, who also served as the director of photography.
Strange Darling will work best if viewers have as little information as possible going in. We previously heard that it has something to do with a spontaneous hookup gone terribly wrong. The official synopsis reveals that nothing is what it seems when a twisted one-night stand spirals into a serial killer’s vicious murder spree. If you’re planning to watch the movie, try not to know anything more than that about it.
Fitzgerald and Gallner were joined in the cast by Oscar nominee Barbara Hershey (The Entity) and Emmy nominee Ed Begley Jr. (Better Call Saul). According to IMDb, the cast of the film also features Madisen Beaty (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), Bianca A. Santos (Ouija), Steven Michael Quezada (Breaking Bad), Eugenia Kuzmina (Bad Moms), Denise Grayson (The Social Network), and Duke Mollner – who happens to be the director’s father, and also had a role in Outlaws and Angels.
What do you think of Magenta Light Productions suing their marketing partner over Strange Darling‘s box office performance? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.
Originally published at https://www.joblo.com/strange-darling-lawsuit/
