It looks like the digital dilemma facing the studios has been ironed out thanks to a liberal lathering of funds. We get wind of the theatre upgrade package thanks writing on the walls of the dimensional portal caves of Yahoo:
Walt Disney, Paramount, Twentieth Century Fox and Universal are soon expected to announce a long-sought $1.1 billion digital cinema deal that Hollywood hopes will boost attendance, cut costs and enable more 3-D viewing, sources close to the deal said on Thursday.
Long delayed by debate over who should pay for the system, digital cinema offers a potential solution to declining movie attendance at a lower ongoing cost. The upgrades will enable studios to send movies digitally to theaters, saving them billions of dollars in print and delivery costs. Once outfitted with digital projectors, theaters can add 3-D capabilities.
Well this is good news. I thought it only fair that the studios foot the bill for the upgrade. They have the capital to fund such an endeavor and stand to gain substantial distribution savings in the long run. The delivery companies responsible for dropping off the reels are the ones that will lose on this deal.
For the average movie goer this simply means better setups in which to view our films. We win! I for one am excited about the 3-D possibilities these updated theaters will offer. With a glut of 3-D projects coming down the pipe the studios kinda put a gun to their own head. If they didn’t foot the bill for the theaters, not enough screens would be able to showcase the 3-D magic. (see above picture of 3-D magic in action)
With all this talk of savings perhaps the price of tickets will drop as well. It seems they are trying to get attendance up and cutting ticket prices is a better strategy than most.
