The Tolkien Estate has filed suit against New Line Cinema for allegedly not paying 7.4% of gross receipts from the Lord of the Rings Trilogy as agreed upon.

There goes "The Hobbit".

Between the estate and Jackson, I'm wondering exactly who New Line has fully paid.  Besides themselves, of course.

I find all of this odd as they, the Tolkien estate, don't own the film rights. 

Quoting Astrakan:

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Quoting Unicus69:

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I find all of this odd as they, the Tolkien estate, don't own the film rights. 

I'm guessing part of the sale of the rights was in exchange of a percentage of the box office.

KM

Not likely.  Tolkien sold the movie, and merchandising rights, to United Artists back in 1966.  The rights changed hands a few times and, eventually, were purchased by Saul Zaentz in 1977.  His company, Tolkien Enterprises (a division of the Saul Zaentz Company) still owns those rights.

I doubt that a percentage of the box office was included in the deal 40+ years ago.  In those days, you simply sold the rights for a set amount.  I can't see how they are owed anything.

Well, judging from the preceeding claims by other parties (Saentz, Jackson) and the out-of-court settlements New Line sought, I'm not that sure the claims made by the trust are only a search for loopholes. The truth probably lies (as is the case most of the times) somewhere in the middle. We'll see....

Quoting 8ballMax:

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The Tolkien Estate hasfiled suit against New Line Cinema for allegedly not paying 7.4% of gross receipts from the Lord of the Rings Trilogy as agreed upon.

There goes "The Hobbit".

Well, whether or not the Tolkien Estate was entitled to anything after Tolkien sold the movie right in 1966 may be moot.  If New Line Cinema agreed to pay 7.4% of the gross receipts and now is reneging on that payment, in the real world they should be forced to pay it.  Unfortunately, Hollywood and the entertainment industry is rife with creative bookkeeping practices by the "suits" and frequently screw people out of what they are owed.  I expect to hear New Line Cinema argue that they don't have to pay the Estate anything because they didn't make any money on the Trilogy -- so 7.4% of nothing is nothing.  Of course, anyone with a brain will realize this is hogwash, but it wouldn't be the first time a company claimed that a hugely successful (read highly grossing) movie didn't make any profits.  That's why people try to get a percentage of the gross receipts -- though producers often find ways to avoid even that.