Picturehouse and Warner Independent close up shop

A little more than two months after Warner Bros. announced that it was absorbing mini-major New Line into a smaller unit of the studio, Warner Bros. president and COO Alan Horn released a statement today saying that Picturehouse and Warner Independent Pictures are ceasing operations. (Warner Bros. and ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY are both divisions of Time Warner.) "With New Line now a key part of Warner Bros., we’re able to handle films across the entire spectrum of genres and budgets without overlapping production, marketing and distribution infrastructures,” Horn said. “After much painstaking analysis, this was a difficult decision to make, but it reflects the reality of a changing marketplace and our need to prudently run our businesses with increased efficiencies."

According to the statement, management from both studios will be meeting with Warner Bros. executives in coming weeks to determine the status of movies currently in development as well as distribution of already-dated films. Upcoming Picturehouse projects include Mongol (June 6), Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (in limited release June 20; wide release July 2), and The Women (Sept. 12).  Warner Independent’s upcoming releases include Towelhead (Aug. 8) and Slumdog Millionaire (limited release Nov. 7).