AFI BLOG: Media and Technology

3-D filmmaking set for expansion - Variety

Next year promises to be the year when 3-D pics go through the roof, the format battle between HD DVD and Blu-ray will be decided and Sony’s PlayStation 3 will hit back against the successful Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Xbox 360, according to a report by U.K.-based media research firm Screen Digest.

The “Global Media Markets: The Battlegrounds of 2008″ report predicts that a five-fold increase in digital 3-D screens worldwide to a total of 1,300, up from 258 in 2006, as well as more pics released in the format, will drive continued growth in the popularity of the 3-D filmgoing experience.

The number of 3-D screens is expected to rise to 3,000 in 2008. Some 2,000 are in the U.S., with that number forecast to increase to 6,000 by the end of 2009.

U.S. studios are embracing digital 3-D technology. DreamWorks Animation topper Jeffrey Katzenberg announced that the studio intends to release all its toons in 3-D, beginning with 2009’s “Monsters vs. Aliens.”

More