Warners closes troubled divisions

Warner Bros has closed down its subsidiaries Warner Independent Pictures and Picturehouse, citing a need to streamline costs and bring operations under one roof. The move had been widely expected following lukewarm results for the pair of “specialty” distributors 70 jobs will be lost. WIP rose to fame when it bought US rights to the Oscar winning French documentary March of the Penguins, but had struggled to find box office gold in the three years since then. Picturehouse, established in 2005, had successes with Pan’s Labyrinth and La Vie en Rose.