Portland's tiny Living Room Theaters filed a $50,000 lawsuit against Regal Entertainment Group on Tuesday, claiming the movie giant wielded its mighty power to stop the local moviehouse from showing a Sundance Film Festival hit.

The lawsuit claims Living Room Theaters and Regal's Fox Tower Stadium 10 received rights to play the widely acclaimed drama "Call Me By Your Name," a coming-of-age story between a 17-year-old boy and a 24-year-old man set in the Italian countryside. The suit claims that when Regal saw it was losing business to its much smaller competitor, it strong-armed movie distributor Sony Pictures into yanking Living Room Theaters' rights to play the film.

A spokesman for Regal, with its headquarters in Tennessee, couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday.

The company has more than 550 theaters and 7,300 screens, according to its website. Its Fox Tower cinemas in the heart of downtown Portland has 10 screens and close to 1,000 seats, according to the suit.

Living Room Theaters, an independent company, has six screens with about 50 seats each, the suit states.

The suit states that when Living Room Theaters showed “Call Me By Your Name” from Jan. 12 to 19, customers flocked there in greater numbers than to Fox Tower, according to a sales-tracking company. The suit states that on Jan. 19 Living Room Theaters received a voicemail from a Sony Pictures sales manager, stating in part:

“I need to have 'Call Me By Your Name' taken off screen at the Living Room in Portland,” according to the suit. “You do not play with Regal there … it has been many months since you have shared a title. They are very upset, and I do not look good at this time.”

The suit also states Living Room Theaters believes Regal made a threat or implied threat to Sony Pictures that it was no longer going to deal with Sony Pictures unless the movie distribution company revoked Living Room Theaters’ permission to play the film.

The suit states Living Room Theaters had pre-sold tickets for the next three nights, and although it tried to contact customers immediately, some still showed up only to find out they couldn’t watch the film. The suit says the company had to offer customers complimentary tickets in an effort to quell their unhappiness.

In place of “Call Me By Your Name,” Living Room Theaters showed “The Last Year,” a documentary about President Obama’s final year in office. But the suit says because Living Room Theaters wasn’t able to market the movie, it performed poorly and the company lost tens of thousands of dollars in business.

Portland attorney Courtney Peck is representing Living Room Theaters. The suit was filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court. Read the suit here.

-- Aimee Green