3D drives cinema revenues

Following the amazing success of 3D movie Avatar – easily the biggest grossing film of all time – the rush by Hollywood to reap the revenues of 3D holds no bounds. James Cameron’s blockbuster had grossed over $2.7 billion by mid April, paving the way for the success of other 3D releases, such as Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland and, more recently, the much-anticipated Clash of the Titans.

For the industry, the launch of 3D marks the natural progression of cinematic technology – the latest way of offering customers a richer, more engaging viewing experience that truly brings the “big screen” to life. It is also great for revenues.

Last year, four of the ten top-grossing films were released in 3D, with many more due for release in 2010, including the final chapter of Shrek (Shrek Forever After), Saw 3D, Jackass, and even the latest instalment of the Harry Potter saga, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (with Part 2, also in 3D, coming in 2011).

“3D content is having a strong influence on cinema revenues during a period of great economic uncertainty,” says Oliver Pasch, head of digital cinema in Europe at Sony Professional. “The cinema owners who have committed to the Sony Digital Cinema 4K projector with the 3D option have reported back that not only are their audiences choosing to spend more money to watch their favourite movies in 3D, but that revenues for those screens are vastly higher than for their conventional 2D screens. As a result, we have had a lot more interest in installing the Sony 4K solution.”

Audiences report a better viewing experience from the Sony Digital Cinema 4K 3D projector. At a recent screening of Dreamworks’ How to train Your Dragon, reviewers supported this view. “Compared to a lot of things I’ve seen in 3D, it certainly looks sharper,” said Gordon Kelly, of Trusted Reviews.

“As well as all the action packed stuff that was going on, which this film had an awful lot of, you feel yourself a little bit more emotionally involved,” reported Lois Iles of the Daily Mail.

“I think you should call it 4D. It was great, it was better than 3D,” said Steve May of Home Cinema Choice.

Growing number of 3D screens

According to independent analyst Screen Digest, by March 2010 there were over 9,000 3D screens worldwide, representing 55 per cent of total digital screens.

The growth of 3D screens has been nothing short of explosive, with a global growth rate of 254.5 per cent in 2009. But this average is dwarfed by the growth rate of 614 per cent in Western Europe. International markets catching up with the US are the primary driver behind the increase.

The 3D phenomenon is not just affecting how movies are watched. It is also being tested in the field of alternative content. There are regular live 3D sports broadcasts in the US; in Europe sport and opera have both been broadcast live in 3D in cinemas in recent months and, of course, the FIFA World Cup in June will give alternative content in cinemas a further boost, with many games planned to be shown in 3D.

Screen Digest says that the 3D driven-growth masks the impact of the credit-crunch on d-cinema. When the financial crisis hit in October 2008, several major circuit-wide digital deployment deals were put on hold, creating a ‘wait-for-the-recovery’ mentality that is still in place for a full-scale 2D digital conversion. If 3D had not been so popular, digital cinema in general would be proceeding at a much slower pace. As it is, by March 2010 there were 16,405 digital cinema screens around the world, an increase of 86.4 per cent on 2008, with further growth to come in 2010.

For UK cinema chain Apollo Cinemas, 3D has been a crucial factor over the last year. Apollo Cinemas last year made an agreement with Sony Professional to install a total of 83 4K digital cinema projectors, a third of which will be able to deliver content in 3D. Apollo’s managing director, Rob Arthur, said the deployment meant the company was able “to offer the ultimate digital cinema experience” to all its customers.

It’s easy to see why the cinema owners are sold on 3D – although there is an upfront investment cost, 3D tickets can generally be sold up to three times higher than 2D and 3D revenues are on the increase. Screen Digest projects the worldwide box office takings for 3D titles to more than double to $5.5bn in 2010, with a dramatic increase in the roll out of digital screens to accommodate increasing 3D output.

The Sony Digital Cinema 4K projector has played a large part in this success. Two of the top three US chains have committed to Sony 4K. With Sony becoming the d-cinema leader in North America, with more than 11,000 screens there now committed to Sony Digital Cinema 4K, Sony’s single-projector 3D solution, offered in conjunction with RealD lenses, is proving a decisive factor in cinema owners’ favouring of the Sony solution.