After Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan announced their split in 2018, they supposedly moved on with their lives, amicably co-parenting their 10-year-old daughter and each getting engaged to other people.
But their divorce is far from over. The ex-spouses will be back in court Friday, battling it out over the division of assets and a financial settlement, with a focus on profits from Tatum’s “Magic Mike” franchise, People reported.
Dewan has in fact singled out the “Magic Mike” intellectual property as a “key issue” when it comes to the division of property, saying that it is the “largest” issue and should be decided first because it “will impact the resolution of the other financial issues in this case.”
The actor and dancer claims that she and Tatum acquired the property together and she is therefore entitled to a sizable share of what he’s earned, according to People. But with their ongoing divorce battle over “Magic Mike,” Dewan and Tatum have essentially entered Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt territory when it comes to protracted Hollywood divorces.
Dewan and Tatum met in 2006 on the set of their film “Step Up” and married in 2009. In 2012, Tatum, an up-and-coming leading man, starred in the first “Magic Mike” film.
The film, a story about friendship set in the world of male strippers, was developed by acclaimed director Steven Soderbergh, who was inspired by Tatum’s own experiences as a male stripper in Florida when he was 19, Deadline reported in 2011.
“When Channing talked to me about this, I thought it was one of the best ideas I’d ever heard for a movie,” Soderbergh said in a statement to Deadline. “I said I wanted in immediately. It’s sexy, funny and shocking. We’re using ‘Saturday Night Fever’ as our model, so hopefully we’re on the right track.”
Tatum and Soderbergh co-financed the project, and Tatum was listed as a producer, IMDB said. “Magic Mike” was a critical and box-office hit, earning a global box office total of $167,000,000 on a modest $7 million budget. The 2015 sequel, “Magic Mike XXL,” also starring and produced by Tatum, was another hit, earning a worldwide total of $117 million against a budget of $14.8 million.
Tatum returned to play Mike Lane in “Magic Mike’s Last Dance” in 2023. This third installment was less successful, critically and financially.
By the release of the third film, Tatum and Dewan’s marriage already seemed to be a thing of the past. They announced in April 2018 that they were separating, and Dewan filed for divorce six months later, People reported. A judge declared the couple legally single in November 2019.
Since then, Tatum has become engaged to actor Zoe Kravitz, while Dewan has had two more children with fiance Steve Kazee. Dewan and Kazee, an actor and singer, announced in January that they are expecting a third child, People said.
A courtroom showdown should reveal how much Dewan and Tatum still have unfinished business. The ex-spouses and various managers are expected to testify about “business and financial activities” throughout their marriage and after they separated, People reported. In particular, Tatum’s business manager, Eric Fulton, is expected to share financial information about the “Magic Mike” franchise and its intellectual property, while People reported that Soderbergh also is on Tatum’s witness list.
Legal observers have said that Dewan could have a strong case to get a share of Tatum’s earning from the “Magic Mike” franchise, especially from before they separated. Dewan alleges that the case has been delayed because her ex-husband has refused “to accept an equal division of the Magic Mike intellectual property.” She also has accused him of putting the earnings into “an irrevocable trust” and transferring licensing rights to a third party without telling her.
Tatum has disputed her claim, with his attorneys filing court documents that appear to argue that the “Magic Mike” property earned much of its value after their separation, People reported. A filing said that “efforts” Tatum made after their separation enhanced the value of the “intellectual property and related entities.”
