BigPete reported the following over at NTFA.net regarding the NTFA Mini-con

"Upon arrival, each attendant will receive 1 (one) free Movie Deluxe toy with a numbered exclusive NTFA Mini-Con convention sticker! These are handed out at random, and none of them are available in any Nordic stores yet! We'll keep handing them out until they're all gone, and they are sponsored by the very friendly and supportive people at Hasbro Nordic!

Please note that pre-registrants will be supplied first (regardless of actual arrival time) -- we cannot guarantee that there will be enough toys to supply the people who turn up at the door without pre-registering.
"

Thanks to oddsey for scanning in an image of the Entertainer Christmas Catalogue which includes a couple of savings on Transformers products.

Optimus Prime Voice Change - £24.95
Ultimate Bumblebee - £64.95
Battle Rig Blaster - £23.95
Death Star Transformer - £29.95
Millenium Falcon Transformer - £14.95

You can view an image here.

Hollywood Reporter is reprorting that Transformers has already recorded the highest number of DVD's sold for any movie during the first week of release, and that over half copies were sold on the first day!

They go on to state that Transformers holds the 2007 record for:

• Most DVD's sold overall for the first week - 8.3 Million
• Most DVD's sold on release date - 4.5 Million
• Most HD-DVD's sold on release date - 100,000 copies
  
• Most HD-DVD's sold overall for the first week - 190,000 copies
  

Paramount Digital Entertainment International has signed an online distribution deal with the Arts Alliance Media's Vizumi network, its first within the UK, to distribute Paramount Pictures US movies over the internet. The deal meals that films distributed by Paramount Pictures are now available to legally download to rent or own. The deal covers both old and new titles. Films such as The Italian Job and The Untouchables cost as little as £2.99 ($6.09) to buy from such online retailers as LoveFilm, Tiscali and Emap's Empire

"As we seek to broaden our digital footprint across Europe, I'm confident that with the quality of our movie catalogue, along with the strength of our current releases and our upcoming slate, we will provide a compelling proposition for our consumers and our partners alike," said Thomas Lesinski, president of Paramount Digital Entertainment.

Arts Alliance Media claims to have the largest aggregated online distribution rights collection in Europe, having now signed deals with 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros, Paramount Pictures, Momentum, Icon, FremantleMedia, Tartan and Discovery Networks..

Source: artsalliancemedia.com

In the last few minutes, Hasbro have announced their third-quarter profits and they are even higher than expected. Profits rose by an incredible 62.2% from 99.6 million dollars to 161.6 million dollars when compared to the same period in 2006, with an 18% rise for the quarter. There was a 33% of the rise in international markets (that is, non North American territories). Here a report by Reuters

"NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hasbro Inc (HAS.N), the second-largest U.S. toy company, posted a higher quarterly profit on Monday, helped by sales at its Playskool brand and continued strong demand for products tied to the Transformers movie.

The maker of Nerf balls and the board game Monopoly said third-quarter earnings rose to $161.6 million, or 95 cents a share, from $99.6 million, or 58 cents a share, a year earlier.

Excluding a gain from a tax adjustment, profit was 78 cents a share. Analysts on average were expecting 71 cents, according to Reuters Estimates.

Hasbro said quarterly sales rose 18 percent to $1.22 billion. Analysts were expecting about $1.14 billion.

Sales rose 10 percent at Hasbro's North American division and 33 percent in the international segment.

"We are well positioned for the all-important holiday season," Chief Executive Alfred Verrecchia said in a statement.

Hasbro said it had repurchased 12.9 million shares of common stock for $362.1 million during the quarter.

The results came a week after industry leader Mattel Inc (MAT.N) posted a slightly lower quarterly profit because of costs and disruptions from its recent global recalls of potentially dangerous toys.

Although Hasbro's toys were not among those plucked from shelves worldwide due to lead paint or magnet hazards, the company might still feel the effects of consumer wariness, Sterne Agee analyst Margaret Whitfield said in an October 17 research note.

"The recall issue may have impacted consumer demand for toys across the board," wrote Whitfield, who has a "buy" rating on Hasbro's stock.

But Hasbro might also benefit from consumer defections from Mattel brands, like Polly Pocket and Fisher-Price, that have seen recalls, Whitfield added."

The BBFC completed their video rating of the Transformers Movie on Friday 19th October, giving the film a 12 rating. For those wondering about the length of the film, its a whole 2 seconds longer than the cinema rating.

You can view the video feature listing here, and compare it to the cinema listing here.

There are 467 new images for you to look at in 11 new Transformers toy galleries, along with 7 updated galleries, as we finish of our Transformers Alternators and Binaltech collection, as well as focusing on some Japanese Transformers.

The new galleries are: -

• Transformers Binaltech - Rijie featuring Ford GT Electro-Distrupter Mode
• Transformers Alternator - Mirage
• Transformers Alternator - Rumble
• Transformers Mega SCF - Super Mode Convoy (Micron Legend)
  
• Transformers Mega SCF - Prime (Micron Legend)
• Transformers Mega SCF - Megatron (Micron Legend)
  
• Transformers Mega SCF - Barrel (Micron Legend)
• Transformers Mega SCF - Ironhide (Micron Legend)
• Transformers Mega SCF - Search (Micron Legend)
• Transformers Mega SCF - HotRod (Micron Legend)
• Transformers Mega SCF - Jolt (Micron Legend)

The updated galleries are some of our favorite Japanese re-molds / re-coloured toys, the Dinoforce.

• Transformers Generation One Japanese Exclusive - Dinoking
• Transformers Generation One Japanese Exclusive - Doryu
• Transformers Generation One Japanese Exclusive - Gairyu
• Transformers Generation One Japanese Exclusive - Goryu
• Transformers Generation One Japanese Exclusive - Kakuryu
  
• Transformers Generation One Japanese Exclusive - Rairyu
• Transformers Generation One Japanese Exclusive - Yokoryu

The winners of Spike TV's 2007 scream awards have been announced over at CNN, with Transformers winning in five categories.

THE ULTIMATE SCREAM -- 300
BEST HORROR MOVIE -- 28 WEEKS LATER
BEST FANTASY MOVIE -- PAN'S LABYRINTH
BEST SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE -- TRANSFORMERS
BEST TV SHOW -- HEROES
BEST COMIC BOOK -- 30 DAYS OF NIGHT
SCREAM QUEEN -- KATE BECKINSALE, VACANCY
SCREAM KING -- SHIA LABEOUF, DISTURBIA
BEST SUPERHERO -- TOBEY MAGUIRE AS SPIDER-MAN, SPIDER-MAN 3
SEXIEST SUPERHERO -- JESSICA ALBA, FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER
FANTASY FOX -- JESSICA BIEL, THE ILLUSIONIST
FANTASY HERO -- JOHNNY DEPP, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END
SCI-FI SIREN -- MEGAN FOX, TRANSFORMERS
SCI-FI STAR -- SHIA LABEOUF, TRANSFORMERS
BEST CAMEO -- KEITH RICHARDS, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END
BREAKOUT PERFORMANCE -- HAYDEN PANETTIERE, HEROES
MOST VILE VILLAIN -- RALPH FIENNES, HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX
MOST MEMORABLE MUTILATION -- DISMEMBERED IN CAR CRASH, GRINDHOUSE
BEST COMIC-TO-SCREEN ADAPTATION -- 300
BEST SEQUEL -- HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX
"JUMP-FROM-YOUR-SEAT" SCENE OF THE YEAR -- FINAL BATTLE: MEGATRON VS. OPTIMUS PRIME, TRANSFORMERS
BEST DIRECTOR -- QUENTIN TARANTINO & ROBERT RODRIGUEZ, GRINDHOUSE
BEST SCREAM-PLAY -- GRINDHOUSE, WRITTEN BY ROBERT RODRIGUEZ, QUENTIN TARANTINO, JEFF RENDELL, ELI ROTH, EDGAR WRIGHT & ROB ZOMBIE
BEST F/X -- TRANSFORMERS
BEST FOREIGN MOVIE -- PAN'S LABYRINTH (SPAIN)
BEST COMIC BOOK WRITER -- FRANK MILLER, ALL-STAR BATMAN & ROBIN, THE BOY WONDER/FRANK MILLER'S ROBOCOP
BEST COMIC BOOK ARTIST -- JOHN CASSADY, ASTONISHING X-MEN
BEST SCREEN-TO-COMIC ADAPTATION -- 28 DAYS LATER: THE AFTERMATH
MOST SHOCKING COMIC BOOK TWIST -- CAPTAIN AMERICA DIES!, CAPTAIN AMERICA

Hasbro Inc have released the following press release through the Associated Press.

Hasbro transforms to attract movie money: G.I. Joe film, 'Transformers' TV show, sequel coming

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Like one of its own Transformer robots, Hasbro Inc. has spent the last few years trying to change itself from simply a toy company to a business that creates the ideas behind movies, TV shows and electronic games.

When the Pawtucket, R.I.-based company reports its third quarter earnings Monday, investors hope to see the early payoff from the strategy. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expect net income to rise nearly 18 percent from this time last year, to $117.5 million, and earnings of 71 cents per share.

Part of what's driving those expectations is the two-decade old Transformers toy line. 'Transformers' the movie was released in the United States on July 3, just after the quarter began, and has helped make Transformers products among the most sought-after toys for the upcoming holiday season.

The movie was the first step in what Hasbro hopes to be a long and fruitful relationship with Hollywood: Hasbro supplies the characters and story lines from its toys - household names such as G.I. Joe and Monopoly. Hollywood turns the ideas into big-budget movies or successful TV shows. Then Hasbro reaps the benefits. A Transformers animated TV show is coming in the spring and Hasbro is also planning a Transformers sequel, a G.I. Joe movie and at least one TV game show.

Hasbro, the world's second largest toy maker behind Mattel Inc., has made movie-related toys for years, but it didn't own some of the most popular brands, such as Spider-Man, and had to pay royalties. A few years ago, it struggled with an overreliance on fads, including Furby, and movie-related toys and was forced to cut hundreds of jobs as it lost $144 million.

These days, the company's strategy is to look at the time-tested brands it already owns - Trivial Pursuit, Battleship, Littlest Pet Shop and Mr. Potato Head, for example - and turn those into new products like movies, TV shows, games or online experiences, said Brian Goldner, Hasbro's chief operating officer.

''Our goal is to create that immersive experience that allows consumers to enjoy our brand anywhere - in any format they want - when they want,'' Goldner said.

Hasbro has had several good quarters and investors responded by driving Hasbro's share price up 56 percent in the last two years, from about $19 per share in mid-October 2005, to a close of $29.25 Thursday.

Still, in a note to investors earlier this month, Gerrick L. Johnson of BMO Capital Markets Corp., cautioned that the entire toy industry could see fallout from a slowing economy and concerns about toy safety. While Hasbro hasn't been involved in the most high-profile toy recalls this year for lead paint, Johnson wrote that sluggish sales could cause retailers to put off buying any more toys in the quarter.

In a separate note, he said he expects Transformers sales could drop off next year due to the lack of a new movie in 2008.

The Transformers movie has made about $700 million worldwide since it was released this summer and about $316 million domestically. Hasbro does not share significantly in the box office - something Goldner says it agreed to forego because it didn't invest in the movie's production cost. But it shares in the success in other ways.

It made money by licensing about 230 Transformers products, including cell phone games, video games, even a jacket that transforms to a backpack and a pillow and sells for about $500.

Goldner wouldn't comment specifically on sales of Transformers toys ahead of the earnings report. But Jim Silver, editor-in-chief of the trade magazine Toy Wishes, said retailers tell him Transformers sell out as soon as they're put on the shelf.

''These toys, the way they transform and the things that they do, they're really fun,'' Silver said. ''It's the hottest thing in the boys' category.''

A new Transformers animated series is scheduled for TV this spring, the Transformers movie DVD hit stores this week, and Hasbro is again working with DreamWorks-Paramount on a sequel, tentatively scheduled to be released in June 2009, Goldner said.

Also in development for a tentative 2009 release is a G.I. Joe movie, based on the 1980s comic books and animation series and pitting the G.I. Joe team against the evil forces of Cobra, Goldner said. Stephen Sommers, of ''The Mummy'' movies, signed up to direct, along with Stuart Beattie, who wrote the first ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' movie.

As with the Transformers movies, Hasbro would not share significantly in the box office, Goldner said. The company said it will make new toys based on the G.I. Joe movie, but would not give details.

Silver said he was excited to see how Hasbro updates the toy line.

''I'm sure G.I. Joe's going to have a lot of cool accessories,'' he said.

Sean McGowan, an analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities, said Hasbro is right to avoid the risk of a box office bomb but should be sharing more directly in the success of a movie based on its properties. He said Hasbro has the right idea in an agreement reached this year with Electronic Arts Inc.

The Redwood City, Calif.-based video game maker now has the right to make Hasbro games for PCs, video game consoles and cell phones. The licensing deal keeps Hasbro from having to get into the video games business itself, and also allows it to do what it does best - make traditional games and toys based on EA's existing video games.

''I don't want to see them get into the business of producing TV shows,'' McGowan said. ''But if they're able to work with the producers to use the intellectual property they have, they should do that.''

Transformers Movie Leader Class Brawl is out now here in the UK at Toys R Us, priced at £39.99, reports The Juggernaut on our message board.

We have updated our Conventions Gallery section with 328 high resolution images from the Plastic Model and Radio Control Show that took place on the 13th October 2007 in Japan. TakaraTomy were at the event, though we do not (currently) have images of any sort of Transformers display. However, good news for fans of Roadbuster and Whirl, as smaller versions of the figures will be re-issued next year under the Dorvack line priced at 3,500 yen, about £15. Click the thumbnail below for a very high res version or view the full gallery for all of the images.

Thanks to Yokubarion for the images.