The magazine publisher is turning to the Court of Appeal in the hope of watering down the multi-million dollar sum the Pitch Perfect star was awarded over a series of defamatory articles in Woman's Day.

A Supreme Court jury found Bauer Media defamed Wilson in eight articles because they branded her a serial liar. Supreme Court Justice John Dixon subsequently awarded the 37-year-old actor $650,000 in general damages and $3.91 million in special damages.

The payout was the biggest defamation win in Australian legal history.

At the time, Justice Dixon said Wilson was entitled to the multi-million sum because the damage to her reputation was "unprecedented" because the content of the articles were amplified by Hollywood gossip sites.

Wilson, who was holidaying in Europe when the historic damages were handed down, has promised to give the proceeds of her defamation win to the Australian film industry as well as charity.

Bauer Media's general counsel Adrian Goss said it was important to challenge the damages because of its effect on press freedom.

"It's important for us to revisit this unprecedented decision on the quantum of damages, which also has broad implications for the media industry," he said.