Ann Carli, who produced Britney Spears‘ debut film Crossroads, didn’t know that the 2002 film was so beloved. In a new lawsuit filed in New York Supreme Court, she claims that she realized only when Sony Music Entertainment announced that the film would be returning to theaters in 2023 — and with that came the realization that she had not been paid 22 years of net profits from the movie.
Carli has sued Sony Music for breach of contract and fraud. She is seeking at least $36 million in damages, as well as attorney’s fees and costs. The complaint also includes a demand for accounting. Carli’s attorneys, as well as representatives for Sony Music Entertainment, did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.
The complaint obtained by Rolling Stone states that Carli, operating through the film production company Fuzzy Bunny Inc., inked a production contract with Filmco Enterprises, the production company behind the film, in 2001. Under the contract, Carli was paid $300,000 as a producer’s fee and was entitled to 10 percent of net profits from Crossroads. The document states that the film was her “brainchild,” noting, that she “originated the concept for the motion picture Crossroads specifically as a starring vehicle for pop star Britney Spears.”
Written by Shonda Rhimes and directed by Tamra Davis, Crossroads was produced with a budget of $11 million. Filmco approved a budget of $12 million, according to the filing. The movie was released in February 2002, earning $14.5 million in its opening weekend. By closing, it earned $37.5 million in the U.S. and Canada as well as over $61.1 million worldwide. Further revenue incurred through DVD and VHS sales, television licensing, and merchandising, which, the claim reads, “were significant in the early 2000s given Britney Spears’ peak popularity.”
But as streaming and digital became the dominating form of film consumption, Crossroads was not easily accessible for years. It arrived to Netflix in February 2024, 22 years after its release, thanks to a licensing deal between Sony Music and Netflix. In 2002, Filmco was acquired by BMG, which later merged with Sony Music, leaving Sony Music the owner of the rights and obligations pertaining to Crossroads as of 2008.
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During this time, the document states, Carli “justifiably relied on Sony Music (or its predecessors)’ good faith and believed that she was not owed any net profits (and therefore no accounting statements).” When Crossroads was re-released in theaters in time for Spears’ memoir The Woman in Me in 2023, Carli inquired about these accounting statements seeing as she hadn’t received any in more than 20 years and “it seemed dubious that Sony Music would rerelease a movie that did not make (or worse, lost) money.”
In response to Carli’s inquiry, the filing reads, Sony Music’s then Executive Vice President of Business Affairs, Dan Zucker, stated, “It does appear the accounting obligations may have gotten lost in the transition to BMG and then Sony.” That leaves 22 years worth of statements unaccounted for.
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Around the time of the 2023 re-release, Sony Music allegedly provided Carli with a net profit statement that claimed Crossroads had net losses of $49.7 million. “Sony asserted that Crossroads, despite its evident success, had not only failed to earn any net profit, but was deep in the red by nearly $50 million,” the filing continues.” Still, Carli learned that Rhimes, who earned five percent net profits on the film, had been paid enough to “place a down payment for her home in the Hollywood Hills.” Other profit participants received over $3 million, the claim notes, adding that Carli was also shut out of profit from the Netflix deal.
“Defendant’s fraudulent conduct was willful, wanton, and malicious, warranting an award of punitive damages in an amount sufficient to punish Defendant and deter similar misconduct in the entertainment industry,” the complaint states.
