MUMBAI: In a drowsy weekend at the foreign box office, Resident Evil: Retribution again took the No. 1 spot by grossing $30.5 million in its second weekend recording a 39 per cent drop from its overseas opener last weekend at 6,720 venues in 73 markets.
The latest film of producer-director Paul W. S. Anderson‘s action/sci-fi series has bagged an offshore total of $103.4 million so far. This has already put Retribution ahead of three of the four prior franchise titles released since 2002. Foreign box office champ remains 2010‘s Resident Evil: Afterlife, which recorded $236.1 million.
The film opened strongly in Mexico, taking the No. 1 spot with $3.5 million at 1,092 playdates. No. 1 openings were also recorded in Greece and in Vietnam. Biggest holdover market was Japan where the weekend tally (down only 28% from the prior round) was $6.2 million at 765 sites for a market cume of $28 million.
Russia delivered $2.9 million in the second weekend at 1,150 spots for a market cume of $13.2 million.
Retribution, being handled by Sony in most overseas markets, opens this week in the U.K. and in Italy.
Tag: Vietnam
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Resident Evil… at No. 1 spot grosses $30.5 mn in second weekend
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HT Mobile selects Intec architecture solution
MUMBAI: Intec, a BSS/OSS software vendor for fixed, mobile and next-generation networks, announced today that HT Mobile, Vietnam’s newest nation-wide mobile communications service provider has selected Intec’s full suite of billing and operations support systems, including interconnect, mediation, convergent billing, and charging solutions and the provision of managed services.
The Intec solution architecture will form a part of the operator’s strategy to offer advanced mobile services in Vietnam.
This new contract further adds to Intec’s long-term relationship with the Hutchison Group, particularly its market-leading 3G operations. Intec provides both retail and interconnect billing, plus convergent mediation, to a number of ‘3’ branded operations, including the UK, Australia, Austria, Sweden, and Italy.
Together the two companies have developed unmatched expertise in the creation of an advanced BSS/OSS architecture that delivers a wide variety of next-generation mobile services to both pre-paid and post-paid customers.
HT Mobile recently launched its advanced CDMA2000 1XEV-DO network in Vietnam, with a network presence in all 64 provinces together with a suite of products and services ranging from prepaid, postpaid, SMS and MMS to high-speed internet as well as infotainment services. The adoption of the Intec Solution Architecture is driven by a compelling need to reduce operational complexity, total cost of ownership, increase service flexibility, reduce and facilitate rapid launch and revenue generation IP-based third generation services.
HT Mobile CEO Elizabete Fong says, “We chose Intec because of its proven track record as an established BSS/OSS vendor across the globe, and because its integrated solution architecture offers us a proven solution based on best-of-breed components. We are confident that its experience will help us to rapidly address the needs of the developing communications market in Vietnam.”
Intec CPP Asia Pacific Norm Halvorson said, “Intec is delighted to work with HT Mobile to deliver leading edge technology, robust performance and benefits of next generation services to a broader section of the Vietnamese society. Our carrier-grade, next-generation BSS/OSS solution supports the business strategies of the world’s leading carriers and Intec remains committed to continue to enable the rapid rollout of new and innovative services.”
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VSNL International to invest US$ 200 million in undersea cable
MUMBAI: VSNL plans to pump in US$ 200 million to build undersea telecom cable linking Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan.
The telecom major will make this investment through its Singapore arm, VSNL Singapore Pte Ltd (VSNL International).
The new intra-Asia cable will enable VSNL International to service its global customers doing business in and with the burgeoning Asia-Pacific markets, the company said in an official statement.
The investment of US $ 200 million follows the recent announcement by VSNL to build a new system from India to Europe that will provide connectivity to the Gulf region and the African continent.
The intra-Asia cable, when combined with the Tata Indicom Cable System (TIC) and the TGN-Pacific cable system (both of which are built with eight fibre pairs capable of supporting 7+ Tbil/s of traffic), will complete VSNL International’s multi-Terabit capability from India to Asia and onward to the US.
“With Asian bandwidth demand forecasted to grow at an average of 27 per cent CAGR, VSNL International is taking steps to expand its capacity to serve customers in the booming intra-Asia market,” comments VSNL International president Vinod Kumar. “This new high-capacity cable system, soon to be one of the region’s largest, combined with our existing C2C capacity and TGN-P capacity, will enable us to deliver high-performance bandwidth at the most cost-effective pricing and fulfil our strategy to become the market leader in bandwidth supply.”
VSNL International will commence construction of the new intra-Asia cable by December 2006. The scheduled build time for the project is 12-14 months. The Company is already in the process of finalising design details, selecting suppliers and identifying additional partners for the project. Future potential landing stations for the cables include locations in China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Guam.
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Fifa World Cup final generates viewership of 313 million: ZenithOptimedia
MUMBAI: According to ZenithOptimedia, the Fifa World Cup final between France and Italy on 9 July generated a television viewership of 313 million viewers across 56 countries. The largest audience came from China, where viewership peaked at 71.5 million, followed by Brazil, Germany, Vietnam, Indonesia, France, Russia, the U.K., Japan and Italy.
As per the study, Germany recorded an average match viewership of 11.8 million. The cumulative audience was 658 million, a 141-per cent increase on the 2002 World Cup. Germany’s 2-0 loss to Italy in the semi-finals was watched live by 29.7 million viewers in the host nation.
The study revealed that four Asian nations (China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Japan) ranked in the top ten for audience totals. They accounted for 49 per cent of viewing among the top eleven. Japan recorded a 64-per cent fall compared to 2002 audience levels. In China, the cumulative audience fell 58 per cent compared to 2002, when the matches were broadcast in prime time and China had qualified for the World Cup for the first time.
Viewership in the U.S. peaked at just 9.4 million, but the cumulative audience of 235 million was 48-percent up on 2002 and 55-percent up on 1998. This was largely the result of Univision, whose broadcast of the Argentina versus Mexico match was the most-viewed sports broadcast in the history of U.S. Spanish-language television, with 6.7 million viewers, as per the data.
In the U.K., the BBC attracted 53 per cent of the cumulative audience, but ITV broadcast the highest-rated match: the 2-2 draw between England and Sweden, which generated an audience of 18.8 million. The BBC’s best audience was 16.3 million for the match between England and Ecuador.
Largest World Cup television audiences in millions (2006):
Cumulative audience/Highest audience:
China 1,820 / 71.5
Brazil 1,140 / 60.5
Germany 658 / 29.7
Vietnam 650 / 29.8
Indonesia 589 / 23.5
France 388 / 22.2
Russia 369 / 12.9
U.K. 362 / 18.8
Japan 289 / 42.3
Italy 278 / 23.9
ZenithOptimedia’s specialist consultancy agency Sponsorship Intelligence (SI) is the official provider of 2006 Fifa World Cup audiences figures to both Fifa and its TV agency, Infront.
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Arianespace to launch a satellite for Vietnam
MUMBAI: French satellite launch service provider Arianespace will launch in 2008 the Vinasat-1 satellite for Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (VNPT). Vinasat-1 will be built by Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems (LMCSS).
The first Vietnamese telecommunications satellite, Vinasat-1 will be launched on an Ariane 5 vehicle during the first half of 2008 from the Guiana Space Center, Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
Vinasat-1 is the 275th contract won by Arianespace since the company’s founding in March 1980 and the 53rd launch for a satellite operator in the Asia-Pacific region. Vinasat-1 is the 39th satellite platform built by Lockheed Martin to be launched by Arianespace.
Weighing about 2,600 kg at launch, Vinasat-1 will be positioned at 132 degrees East Longitude, and will offer a design life exceeding 15 years. Fitted with 20 C- and Ku-band transponders, the satellite will provide radio, television and telephone transmission services for all of Vietnam and the Asia Pacific region from its geostationary orbit.
Arianespace CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall says, “We are delighted to be working with the people at LMCSS once again. This contract is the latest mark of recognition of the excellent service and solutions offered by Arianespace. We are also very honoured to be selected to orbit Vietnam’s first communications satellite, and we are very proud to be participating in the country’s economic development.”
Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems president Ted Gavrilis said, “Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems is proud to join Arianespace’s highly professional launch team to ensure the successful launch of Vinasat-1.
“We are confident that the expertise and heritage we bring to the Vinasat-1 programme, along with Arianespace’s outstanding launch service, will result in superior program execution for an on-time delivery of Vietnam’s first telecommunications spacecraft.”
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Celcom and NSS launch SecretSMS
BANGALORE: Celcom (Malaysia) Berhad and NSS MSC Sdn Bhd today launched a revolutionary product called SecretSMS. SecretSMS is a simple software that encrypts SMS messages thereby offering security and privacy.
Starting today, over 2 million Celcom subscribers with smart phones will be able to enjoy a whole new SMS experience, especially those seeking to keep their text life private, states an official release.
SecretSMS is derived from a backbone technology called XMS (Xecure Message Service) that was developed by NSS. NSS is proud to partner with Celcom to introduce the SecretSMS to the market. Research statistics reveal that this product will appeal to the youth population who use messaging as their primary means of communications, the release adds.
Text messages that are stored in the phones are readily accessible. Anyone can have access to your phone if it is left unattended. Some personal or sensitive messages might even get read by the wrong person without prior permission, which could eventually lead to unnecessary misunderstandings or even mishaps.
SecretSMS transmits and stores sensitive messages that are accessible with a password known only to the mobile owners. SecretSMS is powered by 128-bit encryption that encrypts incoming and outgoing SMS’s in the transmission process. To read the encrypted messages, users have to key in the valid password. Hence, mobile users have complete control over their privacy in the SMS communications.
XMS technology is set to penetrate the global market particularly in the US, UK, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Sri Lanka where NSS is already in talks with the local mobile operators and financial institutions, as per the official release.
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MGM Channel to launch in India on Zee’s Dish TV
MUMBAI: MGM Networks, a division of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., has announced a string of breakthrough distribution agreements in key Asian markets. The MGM Channel will roll out in India, the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia.
Debuting this month, the MGM Channel will be available on Zee’s Dish TV platform.
MGM Networks executive vice president Bruce Tuchman said, “We are very excited to begin our newest chapter in the booming Indian market with this launch. Having previously seeded demand in India through a co-owned, co-branded channel with Zee TV, we are now launching a wholly MGM-owned, exclusively MGM-branded network in order to more fully mine the opportunities abounding in this dynamic market.”
In the Philippines, Sky Cable, the country’s largest MSO, has just commenced the roll out of The MGM Channel as part of its new digital “Platinum” package offering. In Vietnam and Cambodia, Ho Chi Minh City Television and Phnom Penh Municipal Cable and Optical Television, respectively, have entered into distribution agreements with MGM Networks and recently introduced The MGM Channel to their customers.
The MGM Channel’s launch into India and these new Southeast Asian markets are the latest milestones in an aggressive roll-out of the channel across Asia. Starting with its debut in South Korea in 2002, The MGM Channel followed up with a series of launches in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Macau, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. MGM Networks also launched a second branded channel in South Korea, called MGM Plus, following the successful launch of its first Korean network.
“Our success and growth in Asia mirrors our success and growth elsewhere around the world. Over the last five years, MGM has increased its channel interests from approximately 25 countries and territories in a handful of regions to over 110 across Europe, Latin American, Africa, and Asia and the Pacific Rim,” added Tuchman.
In Southeast Asia/Greater China, The MGM Channel is produced and distributed by MGM Networks through a strategic alliance with CNBC Asia Pacific. In South Korea, the channel is operated through a joint venture with leading local media companies, Skylife and Taewon Entertainment.