Publisher closes Premiere movie magazine

NEW YORK - Magazine publisher Hachette Filipacchi is shutting down the U.S. edition of its movie magazine Premiere.

The company, which also publishes Car and Driver, Elle and other magazines, said in a statement late Monday that the April edition of Premiere, which is on newsstands until April 16, will be the last for the U.S. edition. The international editions will continue.

Hachette said that Premiere's Web site would continue and will be revamped later in the year. The company had also shut the print edition of Elle Girl but kept its Web site going, a move that Time Warner Inc.'s Time Inc. unit did with Teen People last year.

Premiere was a monthly magazine but faced competition from weekly rivals such as Time Inc.'s Entertainment Weekly and others. Last year Premiere's paid ad pages declined 25 percent, according to the Publishers Information Bureau.

Hachette Filipacchi is part of the French media and defense conglomerate Lagardere SCA.