UPDATE 1-Eros H1 profit up 34 pct; positive on outlook - Sci Fi

* Pretax profit $27.9 mln vs 20.8 mln stg
* Turnover up 20.3 pct to $68 million
(Adds details)
Nov 12 (Reuters) - Indian movie distributor Eros
International Plc (EROS.L) posted a 33.8 percent rise in
first-half profit as revenue from its theatrical division grew,
helped by the box office success of Bollywood film "Housefull".
With the success of "Golmaal 3" (Chaos - Part 3), which had
grossed $15.5 million globally in the first week, the company
saw a promising start to its second half.
Eros, whose Indian unit recently listed on the Bombay Stock
Exchange , said it was positive about its
outlook, thanks to a vibrant pipeline of projects.
The company's slate includes sci-fi movie "RA.One",
starring Indian A-listers Shahrukh Khan and Kareena Kapoor, and
"No Problem," featuring "Slumdog Millionaire" actor Anil
Kapoor.
Pretax profit for the six months ended Sept. 30 was $27.9
million, compared with $20.8 million in the year-ago period.
Turnover rose 20.3 percent to $68 million.
Watch Sci Fi Online

Tudors, Elvis Costello, triumph at Canada TV awards - Sci Fi

TORONTO (Hollywood Reporter) - British actors and shows were the big winners at the Geminis, Canada's TV awards, on Saturday night.
Scotsman Robert Carlyle was named the best actor for his star turn in Syfy's "Stargate Universe".
"I feel like a stranger in the ranks here tonight. But thank you so much, I really value this dearly," said Carlyle, who plays Dr. Nicholas Rush in the sci-fi drama shot in Vancouver.
Musician Elvis Costello, took home the Gemini for best Canadian talk series for "Spectacle: Elvis Costello With..."
And the night of British triumphs also saw Showtime's "The Tudors", a Canadian-Irish TV co-production about English monarch Henry VIII, named best Canadian drama.
The HBO Canada comedy "Less Than Kind", a more recognizably Canadian series about a dysfunctional family in Winnipeg, won for best comedy, best series writing and best comedy acting for Benjamin Arthur.
In other acting categories, Caroline Cave won for her performance in the home-grown drama "Crash and Burn", Cle Bennett won for best supporting actor in "The Line", and Catherine Disher took home best supporting actress honors for her star-turn in the action drama "The Border".
The ceremony was hosted by "Glee" star Cory Monteith, who was born in Calgary and who plays football player and choir member Finn in the popular American TV musical comedy.
(Editing by Jill Serjeant)
Watch Sci Fi Online

Tudors, Elvis Costello, triumph at Canada TV awards - Sci Fi

TORONTO (Hollywood Reporter) - British actors and shows were the big winners at the Geminis, Canada's TV awards, on Saturday night.
Scotsman Robert Carlyle was named the best actor for his star turn in Syfy's "Stargate Universe".
"I feel like a stranger in the ranks here tonight. But thank you so much, I really value this dearly," said Carlyle, who plays Dr. Nicholas Rush in the sci-fi drama shot in Vancouver.
Musician Elvis Costello, took home the Gemini for best Canadian talk series for "Spectacle: Elvis Costello With..."
And the night of British triumphs also saw Showtime's "The Tudors", a Canadian-Irish TV co-production about English monarch Henry VIII, named best Canadian drama.
The HBO Canada comedy "Less Than Kind", a more recognizably Canadian series about a dysfunctional family in Winnipeg, won for best comedy, best series writing and best comedy acting for Benjamin Arthur.
In other acting categories, Caroline Cave won for her performance in the home-grown drama "Crash and Burn", Cle Bennett won for best supporting actor in "The Line", and Catherine Disher took home best supporting actress honors for her star-turn in the action drama "The Border".
The ceremony was hosted by "Glee" star Cory Monteith, who was born in Calgary and who plays football player and choir member Finn in the popular American TV musical comedy.
(Editing by Jill Serjeant)
Watch Sci Fi Online

Cineplex Entertainment to rent, sell movies online - Movies

TORONTO (Hollywood Reporter) - Far away from the local multiplex, Cineplex Entertainment is selling Hollywood movie titles to Canadians.
The Canuck exhibition giant has joined the movie download business, allowing Canadians to rent or buy movies from its own website, Cineplex.com, day and date with DVDs and Blu-ray releases.
Most new release rentals are priced at $4.99 each, with older titles costing $2.99 or $3.99.
To own, around 2,600 titles sell from $5 to $24.99 each, with an average new release costing $19.99.
The movies can then be played on a PC computer or other digital devices, and even stored in Cineplex's online digital locker.
The move aims to allow Canadians to view a Hollywood movie title at one of Cineplex's theatres, buy a physical DVD or Blu-ray disc at a multiplex store, and now download movies so that consumers think of Cineplex when they think of movie-viewing.
The digital download offering extends Cineplex's roots as a bricks and mortar multiplex destination, and allows the exhibitor to keep pace with new digital technologies, including VOD, new video formats, including release of titles in high-definition Blu-Ray format, and online video downloading and streaming.
The movie download service also allows Cineplex to keep pace with new competition from iTunes, Netflix Canada service and other foreign video portals.

� Continued...
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Superman powers Magic to win over Hawks - Magic

The Magic, who bullied Atlanta during a 4-0 best-of-seven sweep in last season's playoffs, had to dig deep for a win in the first meeting this season between two of the top teams in the NBA's Eastern Conference.
Orlando won by an average of 25.3 points in eliminating Atlanta during the second round of the 2010 post-season, but the rematch saw a competitive contest throughout with the visitors taking a one-point lead with close to five minutes left.
"We wanted to show the Orlando Magic that we could come in and make a game of it, and not just hand them the game," Hawks forward Josh Smith told reporters despite his team losing for the 11th time in 12 meetings with Orlando.
Jason Williams, playing in place of injured starting point guard Jameer Nelson (ankle), drained a go-ahead three-pointer with 4:15 remaining and Rashard Lewis scored less than a minute later to put Orlando (5-1) on top 86-82 en route to their fourth straight victory.
Vince Carter added 19 points including five points in the final 1:12 to secure the win.
"If we're going to continue to fight that hard even when the shots aren't falling, then we have a chance to be really good," said Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy. "I know we're going to shoot the ball well at some point."
Joe Johnson scored a team-high 23 points while Smith put up 13 points and 13 rebounds for Atlanta (6-2) which lost for the second straight night after beginning the season 6-0.
The Hawks fell 118-114 to the Phoenix Suns on Sunday but seemed to rebound early when they raced to a 13-point first quarter advantage.
However, Orlando recovered with a 19-2 run between the first and second quarters.
(Reporting by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; Editing by Alastair Himmer)
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Why The Beatles' arrival on iTunes matters - Music

NEW YORK (Billboard) - It's tempting to dismiss the Beatles' long-delayed arrival on iTunes as a non-event. After all, it's been more than seven years since iTunes began selling music. And EMI Music reissued the band's entire discography on CD barely a year ago.
Still, here are five reasons why the Beatles-iTunes deal is important:
1. Digital marketing boost for the Beatles catalog
Yes, unauthorized copies of the Fabs' music have been available for free on file-sharing networks for more than a decade. But during that time, as CD sales entered into a tailspin, iTunes emerged as the largest music retailer in the United States, topping even former market leader Walmart.
Although file-sharing continues to thrive, music retailing isn't dead. Eminem's chart-topping album "Recovery" is available everywhere on peer-to-peer networks. And yet since the album came out in June, about 728,000 U.S. consumers still chose to visit a digital retailer like iTunes and pay for it, accounting for about 25% of the album's total U.S. sales of 2.9 million, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
ITunes will extend the Beatles catalog's reach to a sizable new audience of online shoppers, who for the first time will be able to click, purchase and download "She Loves You," "Ticket To Ride," and other cherished titles. Troubled EMI parent Terra Firma will appreciate the new revenue stream.
2. Apple Corps drops its resistance to digital distribution
Apple Corps, which manages the Beatles' catalog, finally dipped its toe into the digital music market in late October with a reissue campaign that included a multi-artist compilation "Come And Get It" and classic albums by Badfinger, James Taylor, Billy Preston and other artists. Remarkably, they were the first Apple Records titles to be sold as both CDs and digital downloads.
Now that Apple Corps has reached a deal with iTunes on the Beatles catalog, it will hopefully pave the way for other digital products incorporating the band's music.
3. iTunes reinforces its market dominance
New, on-demand streaming music services like Spotify, Rdio and MOG have generated lots of buzz during the past year. But the Beatles-iTunes deal, which gives the digital retailer a period of exclusivity on one of the most storied catalogs in recorded music, provides a timely reminder of who really dominates digital music.
The deal also shows that even though the major labels have expressed a desire to foster greater competition in digital retailing, their urgent, short-term need to maximize sales still leaves them eager to cut exclusive deals with the No. 1 U.S. music retailer. And that, of course, only strengthens iTunes' leverage vis-a-vis the recording industry.
4. iTunes LP scores a big win
Ever since iTunes launched its "iTunes LP" album format in September 2009, the enhanced artwork, lyrics and videos it offered have failed to excite the mainstream digital music market.
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Sky Deutschland, D.Telekom in talks over TV-sources - Tv Series

FRANKFURT Nov 19 (Reuters) - Loss-making pay TV broadcaster
Sky Deutschland (SKYDn.DE) and Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE) are
in talks to renew their TV cooperation, two people close to the
negotiations said on Friday.
Deutsche Telekom is considering adding some of Sky
Deutschland's channels to its TV platform Entertain, one of the
people told Reuters.
The German incumbent was especially interested in Sky
Deutschland's movie channels in HD quality of which Sky has
four, the person said, but added Deutsche Telekom was in no
hurry and was in talks with other providers as well.
Sky Deutschland would be interested in an even closer tie-up
with Deutsche Telekom so its complete pay-TV programme including
premier league soccer broadcasts would be available on the
Entertain platform, a person familiar with Sky Deutschland's
thinking said.
In an ideal world the two would agree on a marketing
partnership as well, that person said.
Deutsche Telekom and Sky Deutschland have cooperated in the
past but the partnership was terminated when the telecom group
launched its own Bundesliga soccer broadcasts in mid-2009.
Sky Deutschland, which is 49.9 percent owned by News Corp
(NWSA.O), is keen to increase customer figures by entering
alliances with cable companies and others who offer TV packages.
It recently announced an alliance with German cable company
Kabel Baden Wuerttemberg.
Watch Tv Series Online

UPDATE 1-Eros H1 profit up 34 pct; positive on outlook - Sci Fi

* Pretax profit $27.9 mln vs 20.8 mln stg
* Turnover up 20.3 pct to $68 million
(Adds details)
Nov 12 (Reuters) - Indian movie distributor Eros
International Plc (EROS.L) posted a 33.8 percent rise in
first-half profit as revenue from its theatrical division grew,
helped by the box office success of Bollywood film "Housefull".
With the success of "Golmaal 3" (Chaos - Part 3), which had
grossed $15.5 million globally in the first week, the company
saw a promising start to its second half.
Eros, whose Indian unit recently listed on the Bombay Stock
Exchange , said it was positive about its
outlook, thanks to a vibrant pipeline of projects.
The company's slate includes sci-fi movie "RA.One",
starring Indian A-listers Shahrukh Khan and Kareena Kapoor, and
"No Problem," featuring "Slumdog Millionaire" actor Anil
Kapoor.
Pretax profit for the six months ended Sept. 30 was $27.9
million, compared with $20.8 million in the year-ago period.
Turnover rose 20.3 percent to $68 million.
Watch Sci Fi Online

Asia shows dominance at Geneva piano competition - Music

GENEVA (Reuters) - Two young pianists from Japan and South Korea demonstrated the dominance of young Asians in the world of classical music at the Geneva International Music Competition on Thursday night.
Japan's Mami Hagiwara took the jury's first prize, worth 20,000 Swiss francs, with her performance of Maurice Ravel's Concerto for Piano in G major.
The jury awarded South Korea's Hyo Joo Lee a second prize worth 12,000 francs for her playing of Sergei Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto in C minor.
But Lee, 25, delighted the public more with her sensitive but masterly rendition of one of the great works of late Romanticism, and she took the audience prize voted on by the public in the hall as well as winning a contract to record a portrait CD with orchestra sponsored by Swiss watchmaker Breguet, part of the Swatch Group.
The Geneva contest, launched in 1939, is one of the most prestigious on the international circuit, with pianists such as Martha Argerich and Maurizio Pollini among its laureates.
In this year's piano section, by far the biggest number of the 41 entrants came from East Asian countries, with Russia forming the next biggest group.
With the Ravel concerto, Hagiwara, 23, chose a demanding piece, where the piano is matched against swelling jazz references in the first movement and the military gallop of the last.
But she handled the apparently artless slow second movement with a firm delicacy, never allowing the piano to be submerged by the orchestra.
The jury awarded the third finalist, Russia's Maria Masycheva, another second prize.
Masycheva, 28, chose to display her technical mastery with the fiendishly difficult third piano concerto in C major by Sergei Prokofiev. She seemed to handle Prokofiev's rippling scales effortlessly but was often hard to hear above the orchestra, raised almost to an equal partner by Prokofiev.
Watch Music Online

Casino to buy Carrefour's Thai assets for $1.2 billion - Casino

PARIS (Reuters) - French retailer Casino (CASP.PA) is buying the Thai stores of rival Carrefour for 868 million euros ($1.2 billion), including debt, to step up the challenge to Britain's Tesco in the fast-growing southeast Asian country.
Casino said on Monday the 42-store acquisition would help Big C Supercenter (BIGC.BK), in which Casino owns a 63 percent stake, to become co-market leader in Thailand, with an estimated turnover of about 2.4 billion euros for 2010.
International retailers are jockeying for position in emerging markets as they look for sources of growth outside maturing U.S. and western European markets, though the cost of competing is often too much to justify widespread expansion.
Carrefour, which has exited eight countries over the past seven years, was the fifth-biggest operator in Thailand and said its growth prospects there did not fit in with its goal of focusing on countries where it can have a leading position.
Bernstein analyst Chris Hogbin said the price, at about 1.2 times net sales, appeared a little high, although that would depend on the value of the real estate assets being acquired.
Casino chief financial officer Antoine Giscard D'Estaing told analysts the price of the deal was consistent with equivalent transactions in the region.
GOING FOR GROWTH
Hogbin also said the price on Casino's deal suggested Tesco's (TSCO.L) international businesses were not being valued highly enough by analysts.
"I think it looks an OK deal for Casino," he said.
"Tesco have shown good capital discipline by walking away," he added, after sources close to the matter said the British group had also been among the bidders for the stores.
Carrefour (CARR.PA), the world's No.2 retailer after U.S. group Wal-Mart (WMT.N), has been looking to sell its shops in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand to focus on markets where it holds leading positions.
A source with knowledge of the matter said a deal for the Malaysia and Singapore stores was two or three weeks away.
People close to the matter have said bidders for these stores include Singapore's Dairy Farm (DAIR.SI), which is backed by Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd (JARD.SI), Tesco, Japan's Aeon (8267.T) and Malaysian private equity fund Navis Capital.
Casino, France's No.5 food retailer which has businesses in Latin America and Asia, is also in the midst of selling 1 billion euros of non-core assets to cut its debts.
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'Megamind' tops box offices for second week - Comedy

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Animated comedy 'Megamind' proved to be the best of the movie class for a second week, claiming the No. 1 spot at North American box offices with $30 million, according to studio estimates on Sunday.
The family-oriented comedy saw its ticket sales drop 35 percent in its second weekend in theaters, pushing its two-week total to $89.8 million and showing solid staying power for its maker DreamWorks Animation and distributor Paramount Pictures.
In second place was 20th Century Fox's runaway train movie "Unstoppable," starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine. It pulled in $23.5 million and was the top-grossing new release over the weekend.
Among other major new movies, thriller "Skyline" was No. 4 with $11.7 million, while comedy "Morning Glory" was just behind in the fifth spot with $9.6 million.
Buddy comedy "Due Date" from Warner Bros. was No. 3 at $15.5 million, pushing its two-week total to $59 million.
"Skyline" was released by Universal Pictures, a unit of General Electric's NBC Universal media division, and "Morning Glory" was distributed by Paramount Pictures, part of Viacom Inc 20th Century Fox is a division of News Corp.
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Who destroyed Epic Records - Music

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - It started out like any label showcase at October's CMJ, the five-night music conference that's been held every year since 1980. The event draws hundreds of industry professionals, influencers, fans and upstart bands to New York City's clubs, all looking to find -- or become -- the next big thing.
A few dozen T-shirt-and-jeans-clad college reps gathered on the Bowery, next to the space that used to house legendary punk club CBGB.
Augustana, the latest pop-rock priority on Epic Records, prepared to take the stage. The San Diego-based five-piece, which had achieved a modicum of success with its 2008 album "Can't Love, Can't Hurt," had a lot riding on this performance -- and so did the label.
Epic has had declining sales and a dearth of hits at a moment when the entire industry is struggling to adapt to a new model -- one in which monetizing physical product is secondary to marketing and branding.
The 57-year-old label was fighting for its life. It was a long way from the Sony-owned company's heyday in the '80s and '90s, when such artists as Michael Jackson, George Michael, Pearl Jam and Rage Against the Machine were racking up combined sales in the hundreds of millions worldwide.
Epic's current roster still features a superstar or two (namely Shakira), but they're far outnumbered by developing acts like Augustana, who knew this performance was crucial as an opportunity to motivate the people who would be representing their new music to radio, retail, press and the online world.
One song in, singer Dan Layus' microphone experienced some feedback -- a technical glitch about as common as a guitarist breaking a string. But what happened next was anything but.
According to eyewitnesses in the crowd, Epic Records president Amanda Ghost, 36, a career songwriter who had held the top spot at the label for 20 months, stepped onto the stage, grabbed the microphone and, with her native North London accent, spoke her mind.
Among a string of expletives, said a source, "she was screaming: 'Who booked this fucking place? It sounds like shit! We don't treat our artists this way at Epic. I'm not letting them play another minute!' " -- and pulled the plug on the show. "The room just got silent."
Six days later, a memo issued by Sony Music Label Group chairman Rob Stringer -- brother of Howard, CEO of Sony Entertainment -- announced that Ghost would be leaving the company at year's end.
"Amanda has been an important creative force at Epic in the past two years," it read. "In returning to the natural focus of her artistic career, I look forward to us working together in the future."
For a woman who had a penchant for profanity and a reputation for unpredictable, sometimes violent outbursts, it was a surprisingly quiet firing -- and with it, the latest trial in unconventional management was over.
The result? Sad and seemingly conclusive: that Epic Records most likely will become an imprint of Sony Music's flagship label Columbia. If so, departments will likely be forced to merge, its artist roster cut by two-thirds along with the president position.
"I owe the people at Epic, some who've worked for me for many years, to get it right," said Stringer. "I have a responsibility to balance the ship, so we're going to sit down, not make any rash decisions, shore up the roster and hopefully make some progress in the next six months. ... It would be wonderful to start again, but I have a responsibility to the artists to do the right thing, and I'm really going to try."
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Analysis: Rural youth offer next frontier for China Web darlings - Game Shows

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese Internet giants such as Tencent and Baidu are looking to cyber-savvy but cash-poor rural youth in China's smaller cities as the next frontier to keep up their explosive growth.
Compared with Japan and South Korea, two of Asia's most wired countries with more than 70 percent Internet penetration, China has a modest national penetration rate of 30 percent, despite its status as the world's biggest Internet market with 420 million users.
Internet use is particularly low, around 20-40 percent, in the country's populous but relatively low-income central and western provinces such as Henan, Sichuan and Hubei, where analysts see the biggest chances for huge growth.
Companies such as Tencent, Baidu and Perfect World, whose products use less bandwidth and cater to simpler tastes of users in smaller markets, could be best placed to cash in on the spread of Internet access to those areas, analysts said.
"If you look at absolute dollars (current Internet revenue) is coming from coastal cities," said Jin Yoon, a Hong Kong based analyst with Nomura. "But if you look at central and western China ... that's where the growth is coming from."
Official data show about 30 percent of China's current Internet users, or about 126 million, live in rural areas, or about half the penetration rates for big cities including Shanghai.
In the third quarter, China's Internet economy was worth 41.4 billion yuan ($6.2 billion), a third of which was e-commerce, data from iResearch shows.
Lower incomes aside, another major factor limiting Internet growth in the countryside is less developed telecommunications, with broadband relatively scarce.
That could start to change, however, as China promotes a "triple play" project starting in 2013, aimed at delivering TV, telephone and Internet networks over sophisticated broadband networks to reach more homes faster.
"Once the infrastructure is in place, we will see competition in broadband heat up," said Mirae Asset analyst Eric Wen.
GETTING CONNECTED
Niki Xie, 22, a migrant to Shanghai from interior Hubei province, is typical of the youth that China's Internet titans would like to tap.
Having recently lost her sales job, she sat at an Internet bar on a recent afternoon, idling away her time by playing Tian Long Ba Bu, a hit game from Changyou, for up to eight hours a day.
"I have nothing to do, so I spend my time online and playing my boyfriend's character," said Xie, navigating her purple clad avatar onto a fluffy white rabbit.
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Wynn meets 3rd-quarter estimates, sets $8 dividend - Casino

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Casino operator Wynn Resorts Ltd's (WYNN.O) quarterly profit met Wall Street estimates as revenue in Macau rose 50 percent and it made money on nightclubs in Las Vegas.
The company also said it would pay a cash dividend of $8 per share on December 7. Its shares, which have nearly doubled so far this year, fell about 1.8 percent.
"I think there was a lot of talk in the market that the special dividend was coming," said Hudson Securities analyst Robert LaFleur. "Folks maybe thought it would be higher."
Gambling revenue has soared this year in Macau, the only place in China where gambling is legal, while the Las Vegas Strip has grappled with lackluster demand and a glut of new hotel rooms and casinos.
"I believe we've seen the bottom in Las Vegas," Chief Executive Officer Steve Wynn said on a conference call. "I don't know when it's going to get better, but I don't think it's going to get worse."
He also said October, which includes China's Golden Week holiday, was Wynn's best month ever in Macau. "We made over $90 million," Wynn said.
The company, which operates two casino-resorts in Macau and two in Las Vegas, reported a third-quarter net loss of $33.5 million, or 27 cents per share, compared with net income of $34.2 million, or 28 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding items such as a $64.2 million charge for early repayment of debt, Wynn earned 39 cents a share, matching the average analyst estimate, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
"The results were solid," LaFleur said. "Vegas was a bit stronger than we were looking for on the strength of their nightclubs, of all things."
Net revenue rose 29 percent to $1 billion. Analysts had expected $990.8 million.
Wynn's revenue in Las Vegas rose 3 percent, while adjusted property earnings rose 9.3 percent due mainly to higher non-gambling revenue.
Property earnings in Macau rose 54.5 percent.
"The slow, gradual improvement that we expected in Vegas is playing out," said Morningstar analyst Michelle Chang. "And growth in Macau is exceeding our expectations."
Wynn said the company is close to completing design work on a third Macau resort, which he said could begin construction next year and be up and running by 2015. He said the project would likely have a budget between $2 billion and $3 billion.
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UPDATE 1-Cineworld 42-week sales up as 3D movies lure audiences - Movies

* Sees FY at least in line with market view
* Box office sales for 42 weeks to Oct 21 up 8.3 pct
(Adds details)
Oct 26 (Reuters) - Cineworld Group Plc (CINE.L) said on
Tuesday its total revenue grew 8.5 percent in the 42 weeks to
Oct. 21 as 3D movies attracted audiences despite pressure on
consumer spending.
The British cinema chain said the second half had a number
of successful releases, including "Shrek Forever After (3D)",
"The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" and "Toy Story 3" (3D), which was
the biggest film release of the year to date according to
research firm Rentrak.
"The higher number of admissions since the half year end
(June 30) has helped to increase retail revenues in what
remains a challenging consumer environment," Cineworld said in
a statement.
The company also said it was confident of continued growth
for the full year at least in line with market expectations on
a promising line up, including "Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows
1".
In August, Cineworld had posted a nearly flat first-half
pretax profit as it lost some audience to the soccer World Cup,
but said it started the second half strongly with a string of
blockbusters and 3D films.
Watch Movies Online

'Megamind' tops box offices for second week - Comedy

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Animated comedy 'Megamind' proved to be the best of the movie class for a second week, claiming the No. 1 spot at North American box offices with $30 million, according to studio estimates on Sunday.
The family-oriented comedy saw its ticket sales drop 35 percent in its second weekend in theaters, pushing its two-week total to $89.8 million and showing solid staying power for its maker DreamWorks Animation and distributor Paramount Pictures.
In second place was 20th Century Fox's runaway train movie "Unstoppable," starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine. It pulled in $23.5 million and was the top-grossing new release over the weekend.
Among other major new movies, thriller "Skyline" was No. 4 with $11.7 million, while comedy "Morning Glory" was just behind in the fifth spot with $9.6 million.
Buddy comedy "Due Date" from Warner Bros. was No. 3 at $15.5 million, pushing its two-week total to $59 million.
"Skyline" was released by Universal Pictures, a unit of General Electric's NBC Universal media division, and "Morning Glory" was distributed by Paramount Pictures, part of Viacom Inc 20th Century Fox is a division of News Corp.
Watch Comedy Online

Orlando Bloom, Beth Ditto win German Bambi awards - Celebrities

BERLIN (Reuters) - National and international celebrities including actor Orlando Bloom, soccer player Mesut Ozil and singer Beth Ditto took home Germany's most coveted media prizes, known as the "Bambi Awards."
A UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 2009, "Lord of the Rings" star Bloom won the Bambi Charity Award on Thursday night for his humanitarian work with children in some of the world's poorest regions.
"He always makes time to travel to distant countries so he can draw attention to the destitution faced by children and the work done by charities," the jury said, explaining its decision.
The Bambi Awards are Germany's most important media prizes and have been awarded every year since 1948 to "people with vision and creativity, whose outstanding successes and achievements have been reported in the media."
But it was Germany's soccer heroes who stole the show hosted by "Sex and the City" star Sarah Jessica Parker near Berlin on Thursday evening.
Turkish-born Real Madrid footballer Ozil was hailed as a prime example of successful integration into German society and won the prize in the "Integration" category.
"This is a great honor for me and I'm very happy," he said. "Integration creates something new and makes for a more colorful Germany."
Singer Shakira presented the German national soccer team coach Joachim Loew and his team with the jury's "Special Prize" for their performance at the World Cup in South Africa earlier this year, where Germany claimed third place.
Explaining its decision the jury said: "German football has never been so young -- and it has seldom been as passionate and innovative as it was during the World Cup in South Africa."
National trainer Andreas Koepke said the award was a "lucky charm" for the German national side's next big challenge -- winning the European soccer Championship.
Other members of the star-studded audience to be awarded a prize included U.S. singer Beth Ditto, who bagged the prize for "Pop International," and British environmental activist Jane Goodall, who picked up the "Our Earth" award for her ongoing campaigns to protect the environment and endangered species.
Watch Celebrities Online

UPDATE 1-Eros H1 profit up 34 pct; positive on outlook - Sci Fi

* Pretax profit $27.9 mln vs 20.8 mln stg
* Turnover up 20.3 pct to $68 million
(Adds details)
Nov 12 (Reuters) - Indian movie distributor Eros
International Plc (EROS.L) posted a 33.8 percent rise in
first-half profit as revenue from its theatrical division grew,
helped by the box office success of Bollywood film "Housefull".
With the success of "Golmaal 3" (Chaos - Part 3), which had
grossed $15.5 million globally in the first week, the company
saw a promising start to its second half.
Eros, whose Indian unit recently listed on the Bombay Stock
Exchange , said it was positive about its
outlook, thanks to a vibrant pipeline of projects.
The company's slate includes sci-fi movie "RA.One",
starring Indian A-listers Shahrukh Khan and Kareena Kapoor, and
"No Problem," featuring "Slumdog Millionaire" actor Anil
Kapoor.
Pretax profit for the six months ended Sept. 30 was $27.9
million, compared with $20.8 million in the year-ago period.
Turnover rose 20.3 percent to $68 million.
Watch Sci Fi Online

Rijkaard leaves Galatasaray after poor start - Board Games

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Frank Rijkaard's contract as coach of Galatasaray has been terminated by mutual agreement, the club said on Wednesday, ending his spell in charge after a terrible start to the season.
The former UEFA Cup winners are ninth in the Turkish championship after eight games, eight points adrift of leaders Bursaspor. Galatasaray also failed to reach the group stage of this season's Champions League or Europa League.
It was not immediately clear who would take over from Dutchman Rijkaard but local media said the 17-times Turkish champions had made an official proposal to former Galatasaray and Turkey coach Fatih Terim.
Galatasaray held a management board meeting this week after Saturday's 4-2 home defeat by Ankaragucu to discuss the situation and said at the time it would announce decisions during the week.
"As a result of mutual talks with technical director Frank Rijkaard... we have decided to part ways as of October 20," the club said in a statement on its website (www.galatasaray.org).
Trainer Johan Neeskens and their assistants had also left the club, the statement said.
"We have a debt of gratitude to the esteemed Frank Rijkaard for his work and efforts for Galatasaray," it added, without disclosing a reason for the decision.
The Dutchman took the helm at the Istanbul club in 2009 after five seasons in charge of Barcelona.

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UK defense boss calls for Harry drama to be dropped - Documentary

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - The head of Britain's armed forces has written to broadcaster Channel 4 to urge it not to show a "dramatized documentary" examining what might happen if Prince Harry were kidnapped on military duty in Afghanistan.
The 90-minute program called "The Taking of Prince Harry" is due to be aired Thursday, and recreates a helicopter crash in the south of Afghanistan and the subsequent capture of Queen Elizabeth's grandson, who is third in line to the throne.
Harry served with British forces in Afghanistan in 2008, becoming the first member of the royal family to see action since his uncle Prince Andrew flew helicopters in the Falklands War in 1982.
"We can confirm that (Air Chief Marshal) Jock (Stirrup) sent a letter to the chairman of Channel 4," a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense said. "It was a private letter and it would be inappropriate to comment on its contents."
The letter was partly motivated by what Stirrup viewed as a lack of respect by program makers for troops serving in Afghanistan and their families back home, a defense source said.
Reports have said that the film includes a scene in which the actor playing Harry is made to appear in Taliban and al Qaeda propaganda. It also features contributions from intelligence analysts and people who have been taken hostage.
Channel 4 came under fire when it announced the film earlier this month, with The Sun newspaper's in-house security expert Andy McNab saying it was "in bad taste."
Harry, 26, has spoken of his desire to return to Afghanistan, which he was forced to leave prematurely after news of his presence there was leaked.
Channel 4 said earlier this month that it contacted the royal family about the film, but had received no response.
When asked about Stirrup's letter, a spokeswoman for the broadcaster replied:
"We have written to ... Stirrup replying to his concerns. The film is rooted in expert testimony and is a serious journalistic examination of a current issue. It treats the subject matter sensitively.
"It is a legitimate subject for documentary to explore the risks that Prince Harry faces as a high value target, and to seek to understand the full nature of the dangers to a royal in the modern theater of war as well as the political implications of a high profile kidnap."
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