https://www.marketwatch.com/story/3-d-takes-center-stage-for-summer-2010-05-07
By Russ Britt, MarketWatch
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- This is the summer that 3-D films will start to hit their stride -- or at least Hollywood is hoping that's the case.
Emboldened earlier this year by the phenomenal success of "Avatar" and a few solid 3-D films that followed, the movie industry is banking that this rising medium, which helps to fatten any release's box-office numbers, will take off.
Seven 3-D films are scheduled to hit theaters between this weekend's official kickoff to the summer season and when it ends on Labor Day, four of which will be animated. It includes a duel of sequels between two computer-animation franchise behemoths, Walt Disney Co.'s (NYSE:DIS) "Toy Story" and DreamWorks Animation's (NASDAQ:DWA) "Shrek." The five films in the two franchises have made a cumulative $3 billion worldwide.
But the hope is that those hefty receipts will get even heftier with padded 3-D ticket prices, which average $3 more than regular 2D theaters, and are approaching nearly $20 apiece for big-screen showings in pricier metro areas like New York and Los Angeles. Some prognosticators think it could help Hollywood set new revenue records, even if the industry doesn't put any more people in the seats.
3-D films will boost summer box-office take
Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office analysis for Hollywood.com, tells Russ Britt that the films coming out soon, including seven in 3-D, could boost the summer box-office take to a record $5 billion in revenue.
"It's skewing things in favor of a higher gross," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office analysis for Hollywood.com.
Dergarabedian says that 25% of the industry's year-to-date domestic receipts have come from the four 3-D films released thus far, including the new all-time box-office champ "Avatar." That film has returned more than $747 million in North America and $2.7 billion worldwide, and is a product of Twentieth-Century Fox. Fox, like MarketWatch, is a subsidiary of News Corp. (NASDAQ:NWS)
The other 3-D releases from this year -- Disney's "Alice in Wonderland," DreamWorks' "How To Train Your Dragon" and "Clash of the Titans," from Time Warner Inc.'s (NYSE:TWX) Warner Bros. unit -- all have seen healthy returns as well, thanks to a boost from the pricier showings. They range from "Dragon's" $388 million in worldwide receipts to "Alice's" $879 million.
Dergarabedian says traditional year-to-date figures show a 6.3% jump in revenue with a 4.2% increase in attendance -- the difference in growth due to higher ticket prices. But he says the number of viewers is calculated from the industry's average ticket price of $7.61, which doesn't take into account the 3-D premium. If 3-D prices were stripped out, attendance actually would be down slightly, Dergarabedian says.
Needs to make sense
Charles Viane, president of Disney's distribution operations, said while 3-D is gaining momentum, it still has to make sense.
"The bottom line is you still have to make a good movie," he said. "I think it lies mostly in the hands of our filmmakers, who use 3-D, like any other tool, to enhance their filmmaking."
Disney
Disney is making the biggest splash, however, in 3-D this summer with two films using the medium, "Toy Story 3," due out June 18 and "Step Up 3-D," scheduled for Aug. 6.
The others include: DreamWorks' "Shrek Forever After," coming out May 21, and "The Last Airbender," a film from "Sixth Sense" director M. Night Shyamalan and Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Pictures, on July 2.
There's also the animated "Despicable Me" a week later on July 9 from Universal Pictures, a unit of General Electric Co. (NYSE:GE) ; "Cats & Dogs: Revenge of Kitty Galore" from Warner Bros. on July 30, and; "Piranha 3-D" from the Weinstein Co. on Aug. 27.
Viane says the industry will begin to get an idea of how big the public's appetite for 3-D films is this summer. In most cases, though, there is a three- to four-week gap between most of the 3-D releases. The one-week break between "Airbender" and "Despicable Me" will offer another test.
The real test comes in the fall, Viane says, as the number of 3-D releases will heat up after Labor Day. Another 10 films are set to debut through to the end of the year, with many coming out just a week or two apart.
"We're going to see every possible scenario in the fall," he said.
One issue with 3-D releases is that theaters must be outfitted specially to show them, and only about 3,500 screens are so equipped. About 100 new screens are being adapted for 3-D each week, which requires new projection equipment and in some cases, a new screen entirely. Studios are helping theater owners with the capital expense.
But many multiplexes will be reluctant to shut down one of their screening rooms during the busy summer season, which is the film industry's equivalent of the retail Christmas rush. So the 3-D movement may be stuck for a while.
While some say youths will demand 3-D from now on, others aren't so sure. There is that box-office premium.
"So far, 3-D is enhancing the box office with several of these titles. We'll see if people are still thirsting for 3-D," said Brandon Gray, president of BoxOfficeMojo.com. "You're either oohing and aahing at the technology or you're adjusting your glasses because they're digging into your skull."
Not just 3-D
Films in the 3-D format, however, may not even be the biggest individual money-grabbers this summer. Several notable entries, including the first big release of the summer, "Iron Man 2" aren't in the 3-D format. "Iron Man 2" already has debuted in foreign territories, making $100 million in its first weekend, and will hit U.S. theaters on Friday. The film is a product of Paramount.
Other 2-D films include the third entry in the "Twilight" teen-vampire series, "Eclipse," from independent studio Summit Entertainment.
Paramount
Universal is releasing a new version of "Robin Hood," starring Russell Crowe, May 14, while Disney is putting out a 2D adventure "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" on May 28.
As usual, there is the customary share of sequels, nine in all. Along with "Iron Man 2," "Eclipse," "Toy Story 3," "Shrek 4," "Step Up 3-D" and the "Cats & Dogs" follow-up, Warner Bros. will release "Sex and the City 2," featuring a Persian theme. In what could be an unfortunate bit of timing, it debuts the same weekend as "Prince of Persia."
There also is "Predators" from Fox on July 9 and Universal's "Nanny McPhee Returns" Aug. 20.
Remakes and retreads also have their place, as "Robin Hood" will kick off that genre. Others include Universal's "MacGruber," another "Saturday Night Live" skit stretched out into a feature-length film, debuting on May 21, and Fox's "Marmaduke," a comic strip adaptation due out June 4.
Universal
Further, two retreads will appear on the same weekend, June 11: "The A-Team," Fox's adaption of the 1980s action TV series, and Sony Corp.'s (NYSE:SNE) remake of the 1984 film, "The Karate Kid."
There is some original material, though you may have to hunt for it. Most are in the romance/comedy genre, including Tom Cruise taking up his first starring role in two years opposite Cameron Diaz in "Knight and Day," due from Fox on June 25.
One drama that is getting some attention is Warner's "Inception," a science-fiction thriller coming out July 16. The film is directed by "Dark Knight's" Christopher Nolan and is being released on the same weekend that "Dark Knight" hit theaters in 2008. "Dark Knight" now is third on the all-time domestic box-office list. "Inception" stars Leonardo DiCaprio.