‘Obsession’ Producer Sues Over Profit Share After $505 Million Box Office Hit

An executive producer of Obsession is suing the production company behind the horror blockbuster, alleging she was denied a promised share of profits after the low-budget film grossed more than $505 million worldwide.

Leonora Ann Darby filed the lawsuit Aug. 28 in Los Angeles Superior Court against Tea Shop Productions and co-founders James Harris and Mark Lane. The complaint accuses them of breaching a 2024 compensation agreement that allegedly entitled Darby to one-third of Tea Shop’s net-profit participation on films she lead-produced.

The dispute could involve a substantial payout. Obsession, written and directed by Curry Barker, was made for a reported $750,000 before Focus Features acquired it for $16.2 million following its Toronto International Film Festival premiere. The movie went on to gross about $505.7 million worldwide.

Darby is seeking a share of Tea Shop’s profits from the film, rather than one-third of the movie’s total box-office revenue.

The complaint alleges the 2024 agreement was reached after Darby’s role at Tea Shop expanded from the development and production position she took when she joined the company in 2019. Under its terms, she would receive one-third of the company’s net profits on projects she produced, along with access to collection accounts used to receive and distribute film revenue.

Tea Shop allegedly followed that arrangement on other projects before refusing to apply it to Obsession.

Although Darby received an executive producer credit on the movie, the lawsuit alleges she performed the work of a lead producer during a troubled post-production period. Barker had lost control of the edit to another editor, according to the complaint, before Darby intervened and pushed for the director to regain control.

She also allegedly helped secure reshoots, provided creative and structural notes, and worked on scheduling, legal clearance, and delivery as the production prepared for its Toronto premiere.

After Focus acquired the movie, Tea Shop paid Darby $300,000 from the initial minimum guarantee. The lawsuit characterizes that payment as compensation for her producing work, not a buyout of the profit rights she claims under the 2024 agreement.

Darby alleges Harris and Lane later refused to recognize Obsession as a project covered by that deal as the film became increasingly valuable.

The financial records are now part of the dispute. Darby claims she initially had access to the collection account receiving revenue from Obsession before that access was removed.

Her lawsuit seeks a full accounting of the film’s revenue and distributions, which could establish how much money Tea Shop received and what additional profit participation may be owed if Darby proves the agreement applies to Obsession.

The complaint also includes broader allegations of unequal and gender-based treatment during Darby’s years with Tea Shop. She alleges Harris and Lane increasingly excluded her from company decisions and recognition, including the Los Angeles premiere of Obsession, and later proposed a working arrangement that would have excluded the movie from her continuing compensation.

Darby is seeking damages for breach of contract, unpaid compensation and bonuses, an accounting of several projects and any profit participation the court determines remains unpaid.

Tea Shop Productions, Harris, and Lane had not publicly responded to the allegations when the lawsuit was reported.