SAN FRANCISCO: Ubisoft on Tuesday announced that hit video game “The Division” will be made into a film in a collaboration with Hollywood stars Jessica Chastain and Jake Gyllenhaal.
The video game released in March set a new opening day sales record for Ubisoft and is part of a franchise built in an alliance with acclaimed military espionage author Tom Clancy.
Chastain and Gyllenhaal will work with Ubisoft Motion Pictures on “The Division,” with a timeline for production not revealed.
“We are excited to collaborate with Jessica and Jake, two of Hollywood’s most talented actors and perfect creative collaborators to help bring ‘Tom Clancy’s The Division’ to the big screen,” said Ubisoft Motion Pictures chief executive officer Gerard Guillemot.
“The Division” recorded the largest opening week sales for a new video game franchise, according to Ubisoft.
The open-world game casts players as members of elite tactical teams fighting to restore order after a virus plunges Manhattan into chaos.
Ubisoft established its motion picture arm five years ago and its first feature film will be in theaters late this year.
The major motion film based on Ubisoft’s blockbuster “Assassin’s Creed” video games stars actor Michael Fassbender and is set for release on December 21.
The list of projects in development at Ubisoft Motion Pictures included spins on computer hacking themed game “Watch Dogs” and other titles from the company’s Tom Clancy franchise.
Clancy novels including “Patriot Games” and “The Hunt for Red October” have been fodder for films in the past.
Ubisoft making movie of hit video game ‘The Division’
Ubisoft making movie of hit video game ‘The Division’
Christmas Eve winner in Arkansas lands a $1.817 billion Powerball lottery jackpot
- The winning numbers were 04, 25, 31, 52 and 59, with the Powerball number being 19
- The last time someone won a Powerball jackpot on Christmas Eve was in 2011, Powerball said
ARKANSAS, USA: A Powerball ticket purchased at a gas station outside Little Rock, Arkansas, won a $1.817 billion jackpot in Wednesday’s Christmas Eve drawing, ending the lottery game’s three-month stretch without a top-prize winner.
The winning numbers were 04, 25, 31, 52 and 59, with the Powerball number being 19. The winning ticket was sold at a Murphy USA in Cabot, lottery officials in Arkansas said Thursday. No one answered the phone Thursday at the location, which was closed for Christmas. The community of roughly 27,000 people is 26 miles (42 kilometers) northeast of Little Rock.
Final ticket sales pushed the jackpot higher than previous expected, making it the second-largest in US history and the largest Powerball prize of 2025, according to www.powerball.com. The jackpot had a lump sum cash payment option of $834.9 million.
“Congratulations to the newest Powerball jackpot winner! This is truly an extraordinary, life-changing prize,” Matt Strawn, Powerball Product Group Chair and Iowa Lottery CEO, was quoted as saying by the website. “We also want to thank all the players who joined in this jackpot streak — every ticket purchased helps support public programs and services across the country.”
The prize followed 46 consecutive drawings in which no one matched all six numbers.
The last drawing with a jackpot winner was Sept. 6, when players in Missouri and Texas won $1.787 billion.
Organizers said it is the second time the Powerball jackpot has been won by a ticket sold in Arkansas. It first happened in 2010.
The last time someone won a Powerball jackpot on Christmas Eve was in 2011, Powerball said. The company added that the sweepstakes also has been won on Christmas Day four times, most recently in 2013.
Powerball’s odds of 1 in 292.2 million are designed to generate big jackpots, with prizes growing as they roll over when no one wins. Lottery officials note that the odds are far better for the game’s many smaller prizes.
“With the prize so high, I just bought one kind of impulsively. Why not?” Indianapolis glass artist Chris Winters said Wednesday.
Tickets cost $2, and the game is offered in 45 states plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
