U2 may be one of the lesser names getting involved in 3D

Implications: By most standards, U2 is a leader in all aspects of the entertainment business, but when major players such as James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson, Robert Zemeckis, Disney, DreamWorks and others are involved in 3D stereoscopic movies, U2 is just another name on the list. U2 was at Cannes to publicize the release of their U2-3D movie which if all goes well will be released this fall. I have been following 3D very closely and will be moderating a panel entitled The Arrival of 3D - Digital 3D Platform for Feature Films and Television on June 12 at Digital Hollywood. http://www.digitalhollywood.com/LASpring07Agenda.html. 3D is one of the hottest topics in Hollywood today with all of the major players and many others attempting to gain a foothold in the medium. The company list for my panel is formidable, with Dolby, DreamWorks, Kodak, Real D, Sony and Texas Instruments represented. Some 3D product will succeed and some will not. U2 has strong possibilities.

Analysis:

3D is not new, but the way in which it is presented today with digital cinema technology brings the format to a higher plane than ever before. This is not the House of Wax or 13 Ghosts from the 50s and 60s. This is 2007 and the presentation is extraordinary.

The growth of 3D is enabled by two important factors, digital cinema technology and a supply of content.

There are now approximately 3,300 digital screens in North America, with most of those in the US. There are more than 39,000 screens in North America today, so there is a lot of room for growth and indeed the rollout to digital is in progressing.

3D is one of the major drivers of digital cinema as exhibitors and distributors alike work diligently to bring people into the theaters at a time when there is a wide range of choices for our leisure and entertainment dollar. For today, 3D is something that you can only get at the theater. While there are plans to bring 3D to the home, the technology is several years away.

The growth of both digital cinema and 3D are tied together. Companies are competing for the many aspects of the technology food chain that will drive this growth.

As for content, the second driver of digital 3D, there are a lot of movies and alternative content in production and in development in addition to the aforementioned Beowulf.

When Disney opened Meet the Robinsons in March, if you wanted to see the movie on opening weekend in Manhattan, you could only see it in 3D. It played on nearly 700 screens out of the nearly 3,500 digital screens expected at that time.

By the time U2-3D opens this fall there should be approximately 1,000 3D screens. When Robert Zemeckis’ Beowulf opens in November, it is expected that there will be 1,200 3D screens.

All of DreamWorks Animation’s movies will be in 3D starting in 2009. James Cameron is producing Avatar now in 3D. It is his first feature film since Titanic. Following Titanic, Mr. Cameron produced and directed two Imax movies in 3D.

See http://ishindler.com/articles/TSPDigitalCinemaReality05.htm for an article I published in the Digital Cinema Society Newsletter, an organization in which I am an Advisory Board Member.

For further insight, see my various GLG News offerings:

3D on the Crest of HD to the Home, Yes, You See 3 and Encountering the Third Dimension.