Film-Tech Cinema Systems
Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE


  
my profile | my password | search | faq & rules | forum home
  next oldest topic   next newest topic
» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Operations   » Digital Cinema Forum   » RealD and Cinemark to Roll Out 1,500 3D Screens

   
Author Topic: RealD and Cinemark to Roll Out 1,500 3D Screens
System Notices
Forum Watchdog / Soup Nazi

Posts: 215

Registered: Apr 2004


 - posted 07-25-2011 08:07 PM      Profile for System Notices         Edit/Delete Post 
RealD and Cinemark to Roll Out 1,500 3D Screens

Source: reuters.com

quote:
Thu Jul 21, 2011 11:44am EDT

RealD and Cinemark are partnering to roll out up to 1,500 additional 3D screens across North America and Latin America, the companies announced Thursday.

The move comes despite fears that the format has fallen out of favor with domestic audiences, after weaker than expected 3D grosses for movies such as "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest."

It also comes on the heels of comments by 3D boosters such as Jeffrey Katzenberg that Hollywood has jeopardized the format through greed and overuse.

The format's boosters have countered that a lack of 3D screens has cut back on exhibitor's profits domestically. They maintain this summer’s increase in international 3D box office is attributable to a higher percentage of 3D equipped screens in theaters internationally.

Clearly, Cinemark thinks that there's still life left in 3D.

Thursday's agreement doubles the companies’ previous arrangement for a total of up to 3,000 RealD 3D-enabled screens. It means that when the installation is complete, 50 percent of Cinemark auditoriums will by 3D enabled.


 |  IP: Logged

Monte L Fullmer
Film God

Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004


 - posted 07-25-2011 11:13 PM      Profile for Monte L Fullmer   Email Monte L Fullmer   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
..it has to be done to stay competitive and with the technicial game plan in the 3D market - no matter what 3D format used.

..for regular digital projection ain't gonna increase tix sales ... just save on some payroll revenue..

 |  IP: Logged

Justin Hamaker
Film God

Posts: 2253
From: Lakeport, CA USA
Registered: Jan 2004


 - posted 07-26-2011 04:15 AM      Profile for Justin Hamaker   Author's Homepage   Email Justin Hamaker   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote: Monte L Fullmer
regular digital projection ain't gonna increase tix sales
I want to be optimistic and hope that consistent quality digital projection creates the opportunity to bring some viewers back to the cinema. We can argue and debate all day about whether digital or film gives a better picture. But I think most would agree that digital creates the opportunity for the cleanest and most consistent presentation in the average theatre.

 |  IP: Logged

Phil Ranucci
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 236
From: Carpinteria,CA, United States
Registered: May 2006


 - posted 07-26-2011 01:27 PM      Profile for Phil Ranucci   Email Phil Ranucci   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
3D is a mechanism to get theaters converted to digital.Just because 3D isn't doing all that well is no reason to delay the train. RealD's machines will end up gathering dust but you can be sure the projectors will be used for 2D. The end result will be more $ for the studios because there won't be any prints made and the theaters since so most of us can be let go.
I was discussing this with a Strong tech and we both agreed that each install was one step closer to unemployment.

 |  IP: Logged

John T. Hendrickson, Jr
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 889
From: Freehold, NJ, USA
Registered: Apr 2001


 - posted 07-26-2011 03:00 PM      Profile for John T. Hendrickson, Jr   Email John T. Hendrickson, Jr   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
If the current trend continues, most of those screens will be presenting 2D content.

Our experience with Harry Potter Pt 2 showed a preference by our customers for 2D over 3D by better than 3 to 1. If Transformers and Harry Potter can't pull their weight with 3D, what can?

 |  IP: Logged

Monte L Fullmer
Film God

Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004


 - posted 07-26-2011 08:13 PM      Profile for Monte L Fullmer   Email Monte L Fullmer   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I didn't mean to sound negative in my previous comment, but I've talked to friends and other people that I know on movies that they've witnessed in digital ...

... and their basic reply when I mentioned to them that they witnessed a digital movie was, "Oh, okey.. it was nice."

I pulled another test with a movie that we've played in both 35mm and digital: A friend of mine watched the one in 35mm and I asked him on how the presentation was in which his response was "an excellent presentation" - being of sound light and focus. Interesting is that the next week he brings his family to watch the digital version of the same movie and after I asked him how that digital presentation was, his answer was really no different as with the 35mm one.

Thus, it's can be apparent that the common movie goer isn't that all impressed with the presentation technology that we beind the machine and units are ... and where I came up with that comment.

It could be the studio's fault in this where they really pushed all of the wide screen excitment advertising that was present in the golden age of 50's and 60's so the people can look forward to a "roadshow' type of presentation - just the sheer excitement in attending a movie (where, personally, I looked forward to make that 3 plus hour drive to SLC to catch movies in 70mm and excellent magnetic sound compared to the blah mono sound associated with 35mm presentations on shoebox sized screens..).

If studios managed to have some sort of advertising to promote digital presentations and revamp the excitement in going to a movie, then maybe the digital conversion could muster in more tix sales.

Now, it's the 3D thing to bring that excitment back, but unfortunately, not all are that excited about it due to personal preferences and budgets.

-Monte

 |  IP: Logged

Frank Angel
Film God

Posts: 5305
From: Brooklyn NY USA
Registered: Dec 1999


 - posted 07-26-2011 09:18 PM      Profile for Frank Angel   Author's Homepage   Email Frank Angel   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
It's mostly about the economy; Blumberg just reported today that in Brooklyn, we are to be doing very well compared to the rest of the country with unemployment down, housing rebounding (actually, we didn't go into the tailspin as much of the rest of the country did), so here at the local 14-plex which I watch closely, the Movies at Sheepshead Bay, they are doing very well with 3D. Just the opposite, in fact of your experience in Freehold. They are running only one 2D house and two 3D screens, one an IMAX. At the 10:50pm on a Sunday night this week after HP was out in its second week, it was still pulling in nearly full houses in both the 3D rooms and only half a house in 2D.

No one is going to really be able to determine the appetite for 3D accurately until it is on a level playing field in terms of ticket pricing. Or, when we finally get into a healthy economy where the surcharge becomes so insignificant as to not statistically make a difference. In a poor economy, especially in poorer areas where a lot of people are watching their wallets, just looking at the numbers doesn't give you an accurate picture of 3D's appeal or lack thereof.

The 3D haters have been saying 3D was a "fad" now for nearly a decade yet the number of 3D releases doesn't seem to deminish year by year and this so-called fad has outlasted the first 3D "craze" of the 50s by three times in years as well as in 3D feature output and certainly in quality of both 3D technical presentation and all-around high quality productions. Most of the 50s 3D films were "B" pictures. Today they are up for Oscars. If 3D has sustained since the first IMAX 3D films starting around 1994 thru the present digital 3D films since 2005, when does it become NOT a fad like scope has become not a fadm but just a way of making a movie? A little over only half the films are made in scope, but that doesn't cause people to say it's a fad.

 |  IP: Logged

Peter Howard
Film Handler

Posts: 44
From: Forster, NSW, Australia
Registered: Dec 2005


 - posted 08-04-2011 01:13 PM      Profile for Peter Howard   Author's Homepage   Email Peter Howard   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote: Phil Ranucci
3D is a mechanism to get theaters converted to digital.
Absolutely, the studio's almighty Trojan Horse! Funny thing is, they've almost sent that horse to the glue factory by making 3D so ubiquitous.

As 3D struggles, the incentive to convert for me is far, far less. Thirty-five mm is still working just fine, and i'm not using my 2K NEC for anything other than occasional 3D content. We refuse to play 2D content digitally, because i've not been offered a proper VPF yet, and because running costs on a 2K digital projector are about 4x that of a 35mm machine. They can continue to supply me 35mm for the forseeable future on almost everything thank you very much.

Next step from the studios will be to threaten the end of 35mm prints, but it's going to be one brave studio that actually walks the walk and steps away from 35mm when so many theaters around the world are still 35mm and still making said studios a healthy profit on each film print.

I suspect in the end they're going to accept just converting most, probably cutting their worldwide 35mm print order by two-thirds in the process, but 35mm will remain for some time yet.

 |  IP: Logged



All times are Central (GMT -6:00)  
   Close Topic    Move Topic    Delete Topic    next oldest topic   next newest topic
 - Printer-friendly view of this topic
Hop To:



Powered by Infopop Corporation
UBB.classicTM 6.3.1.2

The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.

© 1999-2020 Film-Tech Cinema Systems, LLC. All rights reserved.