For the last few years, Hollywood has been expressing optimism that Digital 3D will revive flagging ticket sales. The problem is getting theatres to upgrade to the necessary projection equipment. (As anyone who has seen films from the brief 3D crazes in the ’50 and the ’80s can tell you, old-fashioned dimensional techniques could be cheezy – and hard on the eyes.) One of the biggest proponents of 3D cinema is DreamWorks’ Jeffrey Katzenberg, who predicted that there will be 2,500 screens ready to show the company’s animated film MONSTERS VS. ALIENS, when it is released on March 27 next year. Katzenberg also told listeners at the 3-D Entertainment Summit that there will be 7,500 venues available for SHREK GOES FOURTH in 2010.
There are only about 1,500 3D-ready theatres now, but Katzenberg says the format is an “economic game-changer for movie theatres.” From Hollywood Reporter:
I expect a $5 premium will be paid for the 3-D experience,” he said. “Fifty% of the admissions of ‘Bolt’ — which was 3-D on only 1,300 of its 4,000 screens — is 3-D. The customers have spoken time and time again. If you offer them a premium-quality experience, they will for the most part trade up.”
Commenting on “Monsters,” Katzenberg suggested that there will be “more than enough screens to give us our investment back of $15 million. We spent $150 million making a movie like this, with a $15 million incremental cost for 3-D.”