Thomson Conjures Up Visual Effects, Postproduction, Film Printing, and Digital Cinema Services for Warner Bros.' Blockbuster, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Market Wire, November, 2005

Thomson (Euronext 18453)(NYSE: TMS) today announced that its Services division, through its Technicolor business, provided a wide range of visual effects, postproduction, film printing, and digital cinema support for the theatrical release of Warner Bros.' holiday blockbuster, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

The fourth installment in the hugely-successful Harry Potter franchise, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was the highest-grossing domestic and worldwide film during its opening weekend, with U.S. box office revenues of $102.7 million, and worldwide box office revenues of $188.2 million. The film, which officially opened on November 18, 2005, garnered one of the best U.S. debuts in history, and the highest yet for a Harry Potter theatrical release. The introduction of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire also marked the fourth-biggest non-holiday opening in US box office history.

Thomson's involvement with the highly-anticipated film included the development of many visual effects shots by its London affiliate, The Moving Picture Company (MPC); front-end negative processing at Technicolor London; and 35mm theatrical film printing at its North Hollywood, Calif., Mirabel, Canada, Rome, Italy, and Bangkok, Thailand facilities. In addition, the company's Technicolor Digital Cinema unit created digital cinema distribution packages in multiple formats and versions for both domestic and international day-and-date release, and its theatre service specialists provided upload services at many high-profile theatres throughout the United States.

The company, through its CFI unit, also handled the preparation and distribution of 87 70mm large-format prints to IMAX theatres around the United States and Canada. The scope of CFI's involvement represents the largest simultaneous 70mm release to date, with a total of more than 4.75 million feet of film processed for all 87 prints. Each 70mm plattered print of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire measures nearly 55,000 feet long, and weighs approximately 700 pounds. During its opening weekend, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire grossed $2.8 million on 66 IMAX screens, for a per-screen average of $42,951. This figure represents the highest-ever total for a giant-screen format release, just edging the $2.7 million record set by last year's The Polar Express.

"Technicolor is very proud of the scope and quality of services it provided to Warner Bros. during the production of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, as well as the other three successful films in the series," said Lanny Raimondo, senior executive vice president of Thomson, and chief executive officer of Technicolor. "For 90 years, Technicolor has worked hand-in-hand with its studio customers, and the filmmaking community at large, to add creative capabilities and technologies that enhance the artistic options of filmmakers in bringing their visions to life on the screen. The release of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is an excellent example of this type of collaboration, and another demonstrative proof point of Technicolor's continued leadership in the delivery of end-to-end services to the media and entertainment industries."

The most visible work on the film came from Technicolor's MPC unit, which created 216 shots for some of the film's most important scenes, including the opening title sequence, in which a 21-foot python travels through a graveyard; the hedge maze sequence, the final challenge of the Triwizard Tournament; and the graveyard sequence, where Harry duels with his nemesis, Lord Voldemort.

The internationally-acclaimed series of films - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) - is one of the most successful film franchises in entertainment history, with more than $2.6 billion in worldwide box office revenue to date. Sorcerer's Stone is third on the all-time worldwide box office earnings list, behind Titanic and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Chamber of Secrets ranks eighth on that list, and Prisoner of Azkaban ranks 15th.

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About Thomson — Partner To The Media & Entertainment Industries

Thomson (Euronext Paris: 18453; NYSE: TMS) provides services, systems and technology to help its Media & Entertainment clients - content creators, content distributors and users of its technology - realize their business goals and optimize their performance in a rapidly changing technology environment. The Group is the preferred partner to the Media & Entertainment Industries through its Technicolor, Grass Valley, RCA and Thomson brands. For more information: http://www.thomson.net.

About Technicolor

Headquartered in Camarillo, California, Technicolor is part of the Services division of Thomson (Euronext Paris: 18453; NYSE: TMS). Along with being the world's largest film processor, Technicolor has evolved to become the world's largest manufacturer and distributor of videocassettes, DVDs, and CDs, a leading provider of production, postproduction, and visual effects services to film studios and cable and television networks. On an annualized basis, Technicolor processes more than five billion feet of motion picture film, and has the capacity to produce over 1.5 billion DVDs, 330 million videocassettes, and 300 million CDs. The company is also a principal developer and supplier of services for comprehensive, end-to-end digital cinema distribution, channel origination and broadcast playout, and cinema advertising. Technicolor serves an international base of entertainment, software, game manufacturing, promotional, direct marketing, OEM, and corporate customers with its manufacturing and postproduction facilities worldwide. Major Hollywood clients include The Walt Disney Co., DreamWorks SKG, New Line Cinema, Universal, Paramount, and Warner Bros. Software publishing clients include Microsoft, Vivendi Universal Games, Electronic Arts, and Atari. For more information: http://www.technicolor.com.