
The Hollywood Reporter says that the lawsuit between New Line Cinema, the Tolkien estate and publisher Harper Collins has settled. According to the Complaint, The J.R.R. Tolkien estate asked damages in the amount of at least $150 million in damages when New Line failed to pay the agreed upon 7.5 percent of gross receipts from the three films, which netted an estimated $6 billion combined. To raise the ante, the Estate also asked for the Court to terminate any rights New Line might have to other Tolkien works, including The Hobbit.
More after the jump.
But in a statement on the settlement, Christopher Tolkien says, "The Trustees regret that legal action was necessary, but are glad that this dispute has been settled on satisfactory terms that will allow the Tolkien Trust properly to pursue its charitable objectives. The Trustees acknowledge that New Line may now proceed with its proposed films of 'The Hobbit.'"
"We deeply value the contributions of the Tolkien novels to the success of our films and are pleased to have put this litigation behind us," said Warner Bros.' president and COO Alan Horn in a statement.
As expected, the terms of the settlement were not released.