11 Incredibly Successful Movies (That Shockingly Made No Profit)

Made on a budget of $39 million, Coming to America grossed $288.7 million. Clearly, it was a huge hit, but Paramount Pictures claimed that wasn't the case.

In 1990, Art Buchwald sued Paramount for breach of contract, alleging that the studio stole his script idea. When the judge ruled that he and his producer, Alain Berheim, were entitled to a percentage of the movie's net profits, Paramount rebutted.

The studio argued that the movie, despite grossing nearly $300 million, had actually never made a profit, and was actually in a deficit of about $9-10 million.

According to the studio, there was no net profit after the costs were calculated. This was partly because movie theaters kept half of gross receipts. In addition, Paramount had to pay a 35% distribution fee.

In the end, Paramount settled, giving $150,000 to Buchwald and $750,000 to Berheim.