Top 30 Movies That Led to HUGE Lawsuits | Articles on WatchMojo.com (2025)

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most controversial movies that have been the subject of major lawsuits, for good, bad, or bizarre reasons. Some spoilers to come! Which other notable film do you remember was at the center of an explosive lawsuit and even controversy? Let us know in the comments down below!

#30: “The Dark Knight” (2008)

This film had an explosive effect on pop culture, with huge box office success and critical praise. But it also incurred at least one stranger-than-fiction lawsuit. The mayor of Batman, a city in Turkey, which is the capital of Batman County, in a province also called Batman, naturally took offense. Granted, the city’s name most likely came from Bati Raman rather than anything comic book related. Still, one might wonder why the mayor didn’t sue the creators of Batman or DC Comics. This lawsuit went beyond mere copyright infringement. The mayor even suggested the film was responsible for several unsolved murders! Fortunately, the lawsuit never moved forward, as it could have set a dangerous precedent.

#29: “The Interview” (2014)

It was perhaps inevitable that a satirical film from Seth Rogan would stir some controversy. Sure enough, “The Interview” contained a graphic death scene of Kim Jong-un that led to intimidating threats from the North Korean government. But as it turned out, the real issue arose from a much more innocuous detail. After hackers threatened to attack theaters that showed the movie, the studio opted for streaming. Kernel Films, the stealth startup handling the release, hired another company, Neustar, to ensure the streaming was secure. According to Neustar, though, Kernel never paid their $1.1 million fee, so they dragged them to court for it. In the end, “The Interview” caused a lot more trouble than it was worth.

#28: “Romeo and Juliet” (1968)

This classic adaptation of one of literature’s greatest love stories turned out to be more tragic than expected. Director Franco Zeffirelli had initially promised the underage leads, Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting, that they would wear flesh-colored undergarments during their love scene. However, just before shooting, he convinced them to go nude with only body makeup, falsely assuring them their private parts would not be visible. Although Hussey initially defended the nude scene in 2018, her stance changed five years later. She and Whiting sued Paramount Pictures for $500 million, claiming the incident caused them emotional damage. The lawsuit was dismissed, partly due to the statute of limitations, but it’s still troubling that they were exploited in such a manner.

#27: “Yesterday” (2019)

This romantic comedy set in a world without The Beatles incurred an even more bizarre outcome. When the film was released, two fans of actress Ana de Armas rented it on Amazon Prime, hoping to see her. To their surprise, she wasn’t in the final cut. Feeling deceived, they sued Universal Pictures, claiming they were cheated out of about four dollars. Initially, they gained some traction, as a judge ruled that misleading trailers could be considered false advertising. However, the studio argued that trailers are works of art, protected by the First Amendment. Besides, several other factors could have drawn viewers other than a brief shot of de Armas. The case was ultimately dismissed, and the plaintiffs dropped their suit with prejudice.

#26: “The Cabin in the Woods” (2012)

Plagiarism-related lawsuits seem to be the most common in the film industry. But it’s a bit ironic that this horror movie, which satirizes genre tropes, could get slapped with one. In 2015, author Peter Gallagher claimed filmmakers Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard stole the plot and characters of his 2006 novel “The Little White Trip: A Night in the Pines.” Both stories revolve around five friends staying at an isolated cabin, who slowly realize that the horrors they face are being engineered by others. Unlike the movie, the night’s horrors in the novel are the result of filmmakers, not lab scientists. The suit was dismissed on the basis that despite sharing the same premise, the two works were executed differently.

#25: “Rust” (2024)

The tragic events that occurred on the set of the Western film “Rust” stress the importance of safety in filmmaking. During production, actor Alec Baldwin accidentally discharged a live round from a prop gun, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza. In the aftermath, production was suspended indefinitely and several lawsuits followed, including a wrongful death suit from Hutchins’ family. Baldwin was also charged with involuntary manslaughter, although the case was later dismissed with prejudice, after it emerged that the prosecution withheld evidence from the defense. In October 2022, the production settled with Hutchins’ family, although reports in March 2024 revealed that they had yet to receive the payments.

#24: “Twilight Zone: The Movie” (1983)

Much like an actual episode of the “Twilight Zone” series, its movie adaptation became linked to a real-life tragedy. In the film’s “Time Out” segment, Vic Morrow plays a bigoted man who is sent back in time to experience life on the receiving end of prejudice. The script initially featured Morrow’s character rescuing two children during the Vietnam War. However, the young actors portraying the children were hired illegally and made to work at night. Tragically, while filming a scene involving a helicopter, Morrow and the children were killed when the aircraft crashed. Civil and criminal lawsuits were filed, with director John Landis and others being tried and ultimately acquitted of manslaughter. The bitter legal battles eventually led to stricter safety regulations in the industry.

#23: “Natural Born Killers” (1994)

Directed by Oliver Stone, this film generated tremendous controversy for its ultra violence. Even Quentin Tarantino, who wrote the original screenplay, has since denounced it for the drastic changes made. Since its release, the film has gained a reputation for seemingly inspiring copycat crimes across North America. Perhaps the most notable case involved an 18-year-old couple who watched the film several times in a secluded cabin. They then went on to shoot cotton-mill manager William Savage and cashier Patsy Byers in separate incidents. Savage died, but Byers survived and sued her attackers, as well as the filmmakers for inspiring them. In 2002, it was ruled that there was no strong causal link between the movie and the couples’ actions.

#22: “Black Widow” (2021)

Aside from horrific accidents or even murder, another common reason for lawsuits against movies is simply money. In 2021, lead actress Scarlett Johansson sued Disney for violating her contract with Marvel by releasing “Black Widow” simultaneously in theaters and on their streaming service due to the pandemic. According to Johansson, the contract had guaranteed “Black Widow” a wide theatrical release, which did not happen. She alleged that this change allowed Disney to avoid paying her the box office bonuses she should’ve gotten. Things got quite nasty when Disney accused Johansson of being insensitive to the pandemic’s impact, which some described as a “gendered character attack.” The suit was finally settled in September 2021, with Johansson reportedly receiving over $40 million from Disney.

#21: “Rasputin and the Empress” (1932)

Have you ever wondered why films always include a disclaimer stating that the characters are fictitious and not based on real people? Well, that’s thanks to this 1932 film. Based on the real-life Russian monarchy, it concerns healer Rasputin’s attempts to cure crown prince Alexei’s condition, and his subsequent rise to power. One of the characters in the movie, Princess Natasha, was based on the real-life Princess Irina Yusupov, whose husband Felix participated in Rasputin's actual assassination. Yusupov sued the film, claiming invasion of privacy and libel, and she was awarded a settlement. As a result, filmmakers began including disclaimers to save themselves similar legal headaches in the future.

#20: “Straight Outta Compton” (2015)

2015 saw the release of F. Gary Gray’s “Straight Outta Compton,” a biopic about the rise, peak, and fall of N.W.A. One of the major players in the story is the group’s manager, Jerry Heller. Heller contested his villainous depiction in the film and claimed that his name and likeness was taken without permission. He filed a lawsuit on October 30, 2015 in the Superior Court of Los Angeles. However, Heller passed away just eleven months later from a combined heart attack and car accident, with many, including his lawyer and TMZ, insinuating that the stress of the movie and lawsuit had caused him to suffer the heart attack. His suit was dismissed two years later.

#19: “The Devil's Advocate” (1997)

Here’s a warning to all future filmmakers - be really careful that your designs weren’t accidentally lifted from something else. When “The Devil’s Advocate” was released in 1997, sculptor Frederick Hart noticed that the sculpture in Milton’s apartment looked suspiciously like his Ex Nihilo, which is adorned on Washington’s Episcopal National Cathedral. Both Hart and the Cathedral sued Warner Bros., and a judge claimed they had a “substantial likelihood” of winning the case. Warner Bros. settled with the plaintiffs before it went to trial, and they were forced to make digital edits before the movie could be released for sale. Copies that were already produced for rental were adorned with a sticker claiming that there was no relation between the movie sculpture and Hart’s work.

#18: “Lay the Favourite” (2012)

In 2012, a Bruce Willis movie called “Lay the Favorite” bombed hard at the box office, grossing just $1.5 million on a $20 million budget. It was later picked up by both Netflix and Amazon, and it was then that mapmaker Victor Baker pegged it with a lawsuit. Baker makes and sells antique watercolor maps of various locations around the world, and a map of his featuring Curacao can be seen in the movie. The film partially takes place in Curacao, as it features sports betters avoiding American gambling laws. Baker sued the distributors for statutory damages of up to $150,000 or the fair market license fee for use of his map.

#17: “Reality Bites” (1994)

This romantic comedy/drama served as Ben Stiller’s directorial debut. There’s nothing like getting slapped with a lawsuit on your very first movie! The story concerns the budding romance between a documentary filmmaker and a floundering young adult named Troy Dyer. Writer Helen Childress admitted on the tenth anniversary DVD commentary that she wrote the film based on her own experiences, forcing a man named Troy Dyer, who had attended school with Childress, to come forth with a defamation lawsuit. According to him, he was approached by many clients asking if he was the basis for the fictional slacker. However, the case was settled when Childress proved that Dyer was not the basis for the fictional Dyer. He was Dyer in name only.

#16: “Colossal” (2016)

This movie stars Anne Hathaway as Gloria, an unemployed, alcoholic writer who unknowingly conjures a giant monster who wreaks havoc in Seoul. Just go with it. The connections to “Godzilla” are obvious, which certainly wasn’t helped by the movie’s pitch at the Cannes Film Festival, which featured photos of Godzilla and was described by director Nacho Vigalondo as “the cheapest ‘Godzilla’ movie ever [made].” Unsurprisingly, Godzilla’s copyright holders Toho took Voltage Pictures to court before the movie was even produced. A settlement was eventually reached in which the setting was moved from Tokyo to Seoul and an agreement that the movie wouldn’t feature an obvious Godzilla derivative.

#15: “Couples Retreat” (2009)

This romantic comedy stars Jon Favreau and Kristin Davis as unhappy high school sweethearts Joey and Lucy Tanzini. In one scene, Joey… enjoys himself to an old photo of model Irina Krupnik. Krupnik had previously sold the photo to a stock image company, but she never intended it to be used in the movie’s context. As per her lawyer, “[Krupnick] did not contemplate, intend, or consent to the use of her photograph or likeness in a quasi-pornographic context.” She proceeded to launch a defamation suit and demanded $10 million in compensation. But by signing away the rights to the photo, Krupnik lost the ability to dictate how it was used. A judge threw out the case, and Krupnick never saw a dime.

#14: “The Laundromat” (2019)

In this case, the elite didn’t win. “The Laundromat” concerns the famous Panama Papers scandal, and more specifically, the involvement of offshore financial services provider Mossack Fonseca. Its founders, Jürgen Mossack and Ramón Fonseca, were respectively played by Gary Oldman and Antonio Banderas. Two days before the film was scheduled to release through Netflix, both Mossack and Fonseca sued Netflix for defamation and attempted to have the film blocked from release. Netflix called the lawsuit “a frivolous legal stunt” and argued that the movie fell under “constitutionally protected speech.” A Connecticut judge named Janet Arterton moved the case to California, and the movie was released as planned. The suit was eventually dismissed after a judge ruled that the film was protected as free speech.

#13: “Happy Death Day” (2017)

King Cake Baby is one of the most famous images in basketball, serving as the mascot for the New Orleans Pelicans. The character was created back in 2009, and nearly ten years later, a near-identical face was used as the killer’s mask in “Happy Death Day.” But that’s not the only connection. King Cake Baby is obviously linked to New Orleans, and “Happy Death Day” was filmed on the campus of New Orleans’ Loyola University. The mascot’s creator, Jonathan Bertuccelli, realized that the mask bore a striking resemblance to his character and sued both Universal and Blumhouse for half of the movie’s profits. The lawsuit was filed in 2019, and was ultimately settled two years later.

#12: “American Hustle” (2012)

This movie concerns a historic FBI sting operation, so it’s not really surprising that it was pegged with a lawsuit. What is surprising is that it has nothing to do with the FBI - merely, it concerns… a microwave. Jennifer Lawrence’s Rosalyn claims that she read in a Paul Brodeur article that microwaves zap food of their nutrition. Brodeur is a real figure and has written extensively about microwave radiation, but he never claimed that they suck nutrition from food. He told the court as much in his lawsuit, claiming that the movie defamed and portrayed him as a fear-monger. However, a California appeals court stated that the movie was a “farce” and that audiences were led to mistrust anything that the unhinged Rosalyn claimed.

#11: “The Wolf of Wall Street” (2013)

Real people can be touchy about how they’re depicted in movies. In this case, it wasn’t Jordan Belfort who had a problem, but one of his ex-employees, Andrew Greene. He contends that the character of Nicky Koskoff, played by P.J. Byrne, was based on him and that the movie portrayed him as “a criminal, drug user, degenerate, depraved, and/or devoid of any morality or ethics.” The defamation case lasted over four years before it was thrown out due to a lack of proof. Defamation cases are notoriously hard to win, as plaintiffs must prove both intentional malice and the character’s direct relation to them. As Koskoff was a composite character with little direct relation to Greene, he was not able to prove correlation.

#10: “Tears of the Sun” (2003)

This Bruce Willis-led action thriller concerns a Navy SEAL team sent to rescue a United States citizen from the jungles of Nigeria. Action movies are tricky to film, owing to all the dangerous stunts and pyrotechnics, and sometimes things go wrong. In this case, things went wrong for the movie’s star. Willis was reportedly hit in the head by an unidentified “projectile” during one of the movie’s action scenes, resulting in “extreme mental, physical and emotional pain.” He sought financial damages and compensation, as he was “required to… employ physicians and other medical personnel” to treat his unspecified injury. He claimed that the special effects team acted negligently and exposed the crew to “ultrahazardous activity.”

#9: “Frozen” (2013)

This incredibly popular Disney film was subjected to not one, but two lawsuits. We’ll talk about the more serious one first. In 2017, musical artist Jaime Ciero sued Disney for copyright infringement, claiming that “Let It Go” borrowed heavily from his song “Volar.” However, the statute of limitations on copyright claims had run out, and the case was “let go” in May 2019. The goofier one involves author Isabella Tanikumi, who claimed that “Frozen” plagiarized her self-published memoir, “Yearnings of the Heart.” She was looking for $250 million in damages. Not surprisingly, District Judge William Martini threw the case out of court, hilariously stating “the two stories are entirely different” and claiming that themes are not covered under copyright.

#8: “12 Monkeys” (1995)

Apparently Bruce Willis is a living, breathing lawsuit magnet! In the very beginning of “12 Monkeys,” Willis’s James Cole is interrogated on an elevated chair while some weird, futuristic sphere probes him for weakness. Like “The Devil’s Advocate,” this room and set up bore striking similarities to another piece of work - this one being a close approximation of architect Lebbeus Woods’ “Neomechanical Tower (Upper) Chamber.” And, just as “The Devil’s Advocate” would have gone had Warner Bros. not settled, Woods won the case. He was awarded a high six-figure settlement from Universal Pictures in exchange for his work’s use in the film, and the end credits claim that the interrogation room was “inspired” by the architectural work of Lebbeus Woods.

#7: “Avatar” (2009)

James Cameron’s “Avatar” was a technical marvel, but its story was very derivative. So derivative, in fact, that it was subjected to numerous lawsuits. No more than six separate writers claimed that Cameron snatched their ideas or aspects of their published stories for the movie. Some cases were more substantial than others, and many of these lawsuits were eventually dropped. But it wasn’t just the story that proved controversial. The physical design of Pandora drew the attention of artist William Roger Dean, who claimed that Cameron stole aspects of his paintings - most notably the Hallelujah Mountains sharing similarities with his work “Floating Islands.” However, a judge threw the case out, claiming, “Plaintiff does not have a monopoly on the idea of floating or airborne land.”

#6: “The Hangover Part II” (2011)

The first “Hangover” was a universally beloved comedy. The second was far more divisive, and it was subjected to three separate lawsuits. One involved Louis Vuitton suing over a knockoff handbag seen and referred to in the film, claiming it was “trademark dilution.” They lost that one. The second involved stuntman Scott McLean, who suffered a horrible and debilitating brain injury while filming a car stunt. That case was settled out of court. Finally, Stu’s mock Mike Tyson face tattoo was subjected to a copyright infringement case by Tyson’s tattoo designer, S. Victor Whitmill. This case, too, was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.

#5: “Die Hard 2” (1990)

Product placement is all too common in blockbuster movies. As the budget for “Die Hard 2” increased, Fox and Black & Decker reached an agreement - the power tool manufacturer would fork over $20,000 in exchange for John McClane using their latest tool, the Univolt cordless drill, on screen. The company was excited about the promotion and even created a tie-in marketing campaign around the tool. However, the scene was cut from the final edit without Black & Decker’s permission, and the company was cheesed. They sought $150,000 in damages and won, with 20th Century Fox settling out of court. But the best part about this story? Black & Decker never actually paid the agreed-upon $20,000.

#4: “Blazing Saddles” (1974)

Hedy Lamarr was a popular Hollywood actress throughout the late ‘30s and ‘40s, starring in movies alongside Clark Gable and Jimmy Stewart. In “Blazing Saddles,” Harvey Korman plays a character named Hedley Lamarr. You see the issue. Lamarr sued Warner Bros. over misuse of her name for $100,000 - about $500,000 today. Director Mel Brooks decided not to fight it, and Warner Bros. settled out of court for an undisclosed, albeit admittedly small, sum. They also issued a tongue-in-cheek apology for “almost using her name.” This lawsuit is even winkingly referenced in the movie itself by Brooks’s character The Governor.

#3: “Back to the Future Part II” (1989)

Sometimes cases prove so important that they change the way filmmaking is done forever. Case in point - the replacement of Crispin Glover in “Back to the Future Part II.” Glover was asked to return as George McFly but reportedly demanded too much money. Rather than bow to his demands, the producers told him to “make like a tree and get out of here” and replaced him with actor Jeffrey Weissman. Weissman wore various prosthetics to make him look like Glover, resulting in a lawsuit in which the real Glover claimed that they had used his likeness without permission. The case was settled out of court, and various clauses were inserted into the Screen Actors Guild claiming that actors’ likenesses cannot be replicated.

#2: “Rocky” (1976)

It’s claimed that Sylvester Stallone was inspired to write “Rocky” after watching a boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Chuck Wepner, in which Wepner went fifteen rounds before losing in a technical knockout. Apparently Wepner was OK with this fact for over 25 years, but something snapped in 2003 that inspired him to launch a lawsuit against Stallone. He sought $15 million, claiming Stallone used his name “to promote the ‘Rocky’ movies… for commercial purposes without [his] consent and without compensation.” The suit was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum in 2006 - the same year that “Rocky Balboa” was released.

#1: “Borat” (2006)