After entertaining us for over 40 years with magnificent films like The Lord of the Rings, the Rush Hour series and the recent The Golden Compass, New Line Cinemas will now be merged with another entertainment giant Warner Brothers Pictures.
The merger, which was long in the pipeline, is the result of insurmountable losses suffered by New Line in recent years. Even the studios recent releases like Rush Hour 3 and The Golden Compass, which was widely expected to become another Lord of the Rings, failed to meet box-office expectations.
Also, the lawsuit against New Line by the heirs of J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of 'The Lord of the Rings', has added to the studios troubles. New Line currently holds the rights for filming 'The Hobbit', which is a prequel to 'The Lord of the Rings'.
Post-merger, New Line will operate within Time-Warner and will be taking care of smaller budget films and horror films.
