Bohemian Rhapsody screenwriter, Anthony McCarten, has reached a settlement in a lawsuit accusing producer GK Films of withholding his share of profits from the successful Freddie Mercury biopic. The film grossed over $900 million at the box office, but McCarten claimed he hadn't received any profits despite his contractual entitlement.

On October 31, McCarten filed for the dismissal of the lawsuit against GK Films, although the terms of the settlement were not disclosed. The acclaimed screenwriter, known for his work on movies like Darkest Hour and The Theory of Everything, obtained the "screenplay by" credit for the movie and was entitled to 5% of 100% of net proceeds under his deal with GK Films.

In his complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, McCarten alleged that he had not received any profits, as the accounting statements issued by Fox's 20th Century Studios showed a $51 million deficit for the film. He took issue with the computation of net proceeds, arguing that Fox's standard definition, instead of GK Films', was used, resulting in distribution fees eating away at his share.

McCarten claimed that he was promised fair compensation when he expressed concerns about his low fixed fees in the deal. Allegedly, then-GK Films executive Denis O'Sullivan assured him that the company would take care of him in success. McCarten interpreted this statement to mean that he would be paid 5% of GK Films' earnings from the movie, with any difference between actual and net proceeds considered as home video royalties and his unrecouped development expenses. The lawsuit noted that McCarten's lawyers negotiated directly with GK Films, not Fox.

The lawsuit further accused GK Films, owned by Graham King, of breaching its obligation to negotiate in good faith. McCarten's lawyer, Dale Kinsella, argued that the company failed to provide any definition of net proceeds and had no intention of establishing one. Kinsella added that it was unclear whether GK Films had a standard definition for net proceeds in any of their films.

Bohemian Rhapsody, a film that faced years of development challenges before McCarten's involvement, grossed more than $900 million worldwide against a moderate budget of approximately $55 million. The lawsuit highlighted the practice of rebranding net profits as net proceeds adopted by many studios. This allows studios to avoid reconciling significant profits with accounting statements that often show multimillion-dollar deficits.

Neither GK Films nor Fox, which was not named in the complaint, provided any comments on the settlement.

In conclusion, Anthony McCarten has settled his lawsuit against GK Films, claiming unpaid profits from the box-office hit Bohemian Rhapsody. The terms of the settlement remain undisclosed.