The lawsuit relates to homevideo distribution agreements between Orion and Sony under which Sony became the exclusive sales agent for certain foreign territories between 1985 and 1992. The agreements predate MGM’s acquisition of Orion in 1997.

In its complaint, MGM alleges that Columbia “substantially and systematically underreported the proceeds of the films due to Orion.”

As an example, the complaint states, Columbia reported only $203 generated from the distribution in Mexico of the Orion film “The Silence of the Lambs,” although more than 30,000 units were sold by Columbia’s subdistributors during that time period.

Other Orion titles distributed by Columbia were “Robocop III,” “FX II,” “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” and several Woody Allen titles.

The complaint also alleges that Columbia charged Orion for purported taxes in foreign territories in excess of tax liabilities actually incurred and made “huge adjustments” to accounting statements, including reducing receipts by millions of dollars.

Responding to a request for comment, Jerry Giaquinta, a Sony spokesman said, “We haven’t seen the lawsuit yet; we’ve only seen a press release, and unlike MGM, we don’t litigate in the press. We’ll defend our rights in court and we will expect to prevail.”