AFI BLOG: Media and Technology

Wired

Studio execs have an odd conundrum: Box-office receipts have steadily grown but the number of ticket sales have not. Thanks to the proliferation of home theaters, movies-on-demand and portable video players, moviegoers have fewer reasons to actually “go” to a movie. The studios’ solution? Hike ticket prices by a couple bucks apiece and ramp up production of 3-D movies.
“It’s pretty clear right now that you can charge a premium for 3-D,” says Doug Creutz, an analyst with Cowen & Co., who covers the entertainment industry. “We’re probably talking about the difference between $15 and $10 [tickets]. And attendance is much better for 3-D movies.”
Filmmakers and studios alike have pledged their allegiance to 3-D. Disney and Pixar announced this week that it will release all of its films in 3-D, starting with Bolt, which is slated for a November release. Dreamworks Animation says that by 2009 all of its movies will be released in 3-D. James Cameron is working on big-budget 3-D sci-fi flick called Avatar, and George Lucas is working on remastering all the Star Wars movies in 3-D.
For studios, the financial allure of 3-D is twofold: The technology can’t easily be replicated in home theaters (yet); and moviegoers are still willing to pay a premium for 3-D films. The big question is whether the technology is a game changer or just a short-lived gimmick to drive ticket sales, like Smell-O-Vision — or, for that matter, the 3-D technology of the 1950s.

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