Crazy Rich Asians made US$238.5 million (S$330 million) at the box office worldwide.

But a Malaysian-born screenwriter is potentially getting paid pittance in comparison for the next round of work if she agrees to continue.

This has led Adele Lim to quit as co-writer for the sequel having worked on the 2018 blockbuster.

Pay dispute

Hollywood Reporter reported the issue is over what she said is pay inequality.

Sources said she was offered US$110,000, about one-eight of the US$800,000 to US$1 million deal for co-writer Peter Chiarelli.

Lim did not want to divulge the exact figure she was offered.

Lim's role in Crazy Rich Asians

Lim helped to adapt Singapore-born author Kevin Kwan's book to the screen.

But she said there was the tendency to bring women and people of colour on board projects as "soy sauce".

What she meant was that these individuals as creatives are tasked with adding cultural texture, but not with the crucial work of storytelling, Hollywood Reporter wrote.

"Being evaluated that way can't help but make you feel that is how they view my contributions," she told the Hollywood Reporter.

Lack of track record

Chiarelli's credentials include 2009's The Proposal and 2016's Now You See Me 2.

The pay differential offered by the studio could be due to Lim's lack of track record, despite the worldwide success of Crazy Rich Asians.

She has written for TV shows such as One Tree Hill and Private Practice.

Allowing Lim to command a much higher payout, the studio reasoned, would reportedly set an uneasy precedence for future writers.

Offer to split fees turned down

Hollywood Reporter revealed that Chiarelli offered to split his fees with Lim, which she turned down.

"Pete has been nothing but incredibly gracious, but what I make shouldn't be dependent on the generosity of the white-guy writer," she said.

"If I couldn't get pay equity after CRA, I can't imagine what it would be like for anyone else."

Working with Disney

Lim's decision to walk could also be due to other lucrative work lined up.

She has tied up with Disney Animation and is working on its Southeast Asian mythology-influenced feature Raya And The Last Dragon, with Crazy Rich Asians's Awkwafina voicing a dragon.