Obsession producer suing over pay claims she was pushed out after film became $500M success

After helping turn Obsession into a box office phenomenon that has grossed more than $500 million worldwide, one of the film’s producers is now suing the production company behind the horror over an alleged dispute about her share of the profits.

Leonora Ann Darby served as an executive producer on Curry Barker’s breakout horror hit while working for Tea Shop Productions, one of the independent production companies behind the film.

In a lawsuit filed against Tea Shop and its co-founders James Harris and Mark Lane, Darby alleges that after helping to “rescue and deliver” Obsession, she was denied the share of the film’s profits she says she had previously been promised.

The document reads, “This action arises from a seven-year pattern of unequal treatment and broken compensation promises by two older male film producers to a younger female producer whose labor was material to the growth of their company and who rescued their biggest film, the global hit Obsession.”

Darby had worked for Tea Shop since 2019, eventually becoming what Harris and Lane reportedly described as the company’s “third producer”.

By 2024, she claims the three had reached an agreement that increased her annual salary to £100,000 and entitled her to one third of the net profit participation received by the company on any film she served as lead producer on.

It’s worth noting that this doesn’t mean Darby is arguing she’s owed a third of the $500 million Obsession made. Instead, she’s seeking a third of the net profits that Tea Shop itself is entitled to receive from the film.

The lawsuit claims Tea Shop had already honoured the same one third arrangement on several other movies Darby worked on, including A Banquet, The Surfer and Tornado. But she alleges Obsession ultimately became “the one film on which she received no continuing participation”.

Darby claims she helped ‘rescue’ Obsession before its $500 million success

A significant part of the dispute centres around whether Darby’s work on Obsession qualified her as a lead producer under the alleged agreement.

Her lawsuit claims that when she became heavily involved with the film in May 2025, Barker had been taken off editing duties and another editor was working on a new cut. It says there were “substantial concerns” at the time because Obsession was “mired in an edit that was not working”.

Darby allegedly stepped in with creative and structural notes, pushed for the edit to be handed back to Barker and recommended reshoots, which subsequently took place. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Obsession (@obsessionthemovie) 

The lawsuit claims she also assumed responsibility for aspects of post-production, scheduling, credits, legal clearance, quality control and delivering the film in time for its Toronto International Film Festival premiere.

Among the changes Darby says she advocated for include the restructuring of the setup between Nikki and Bear, the character arcs in the first two acts and her pushing to fully commit to the supernatural elements of the story, including making the One Wish Willow genuinely function within the world of the film.

She also claims she predicted that, with her proposed changes and reshoots, Obsession could achieve the same level of commercial success as It Follows.

According to the lawsuit, producer Haley Johnson later described Darby as “the perfect voice at this time”, while telling her that her notes and proposed plan had gone down “fantastic” with Barker and left the director feeling “very inspired”.

Darby ultimately received an executive producer credit on Obsession, rather than a producer credit. However, her legal team argues that the profit-sharing agreement was based on the work she actually performed as a lead producer, rather than the credit she received on screen.

Obsession would go on to vastly exceed even the success Darby predicted. The horror has now made more than $505.7 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film in Focus Features’ history.

She claims she was entitled to a third of Tea Shop’s net profits

Despite that success, Darby alleges Tea Shop refused to recognise Obsession as one of the films covered by their 2024 profit sharing agreement.

She was paid $300,000 for her work on Obsession, which the lawsuit says came from the film’s initial minimum guarantee after her company invoiced Tea Shop for “Services: Obsession”.

However, Darby argues that this was fixed compensation for her producing work and did not buy out or replace her alleged right to a share of Tea Shop’s profits. And the situation allegedly deteriorated further when she began seeking information about the money generated by the film. 

Darby claims she initially had access to the collection account used to administer Obsession revenue, but discovered in June 2026 that her access had been changed or removed.

The complaint alleges Lane subsequently told her the removal was a reaction to her having seen the Obsession account and told her she should inform the collection account manager that she should not be included “in order to save herself the embarrassment”.

Darby claims Tea Shop then proposed changing her existing working arrangement to that of a contractor under a new compensation structure which left out Obsession.

“After Darby persisted, Harris entirely stopped communicating with her in the manner he had throughout the relationship,” the complaint says. 

“Tea Shop excluded her from producer calls, meetings, ongoing assignments and projects, and company decision-making and withdrew the authority and opportunities that accompanied her role. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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“This exclusion left Darby unable to perform the substantive functions of her producer role even though she continued to hold herself ready and willing to work.”

With all of this in mind, Darby is now seeking, among other things, an accounting of the film’s finances and payment of the one third share of Tea Shop’s qualifying Obsession net profits she believes she is owed.

Tea Shop, however, disputes Darby’s claims. In a response included in the lawsuit, the company said she has “no legal entitlement” to its financial records and denied that their agreement entitled her to profit participation from Obsession.

This isn’t the first pay dispute surrounding Barker’s horror hit, with the art director speaking out back in June and claiming she made just over $6,700. It sparked a debate, given the film itself was made on a shoestring budget of just $750,000. 

However, this is the first time a salary dispute over Obsession has resulted in legal action. For now, the case is ongoing and the allegations have not yet been tested in court.

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Featured image credit: MJ Photos/Shutterstock/Focus Features