News
3-D screens double boxoffice returns
March 30, 2009 – Monsters vs. Alien pulled a robust $59.3 million [updated final figure] for the three-day weekend on 7,300 screens, in a validation for 3-D cinema projection, according to a Wall Street Journal article. Lionsgate’s horror film The Haunting in Connecticut grossed $23 million from half as many screens, in another strong debut, as cinema going continues to ride high despite the deep recession. Those figures are domestic box office—U.S. and Canada.
The movie industry’s eyes were on Monsters because the DreamWorks Animation film bet heavily on 3-D. “This weekend makes me confident that this is the beginning of the era, not just a passing fad,” DreamWorks Animation Chief Executive Jeffrey Katzenberg told the WSJ, referring to 3-D.
About 2,000 screens played Monsters in 3-D, which represent about 27% of total screen, but 56% of boxoffice dollars, according to the WSJ article by Lauren A.E. Schuker. That translates to roughly one quarter of screens accounted for half the dollars.
Monsters played on virtually all the domestic market’s 3-D screens -- more than any other previous 3-D movie has played on. The 3-D screen ticket prices were roughly $2-$4 more than regular tickets.
Notes the WSJ article: “According to exit polls DreamWorks conducted over the weekend, nearly 40% of the people who saw the film in the standard, 2-D format actually wanted the 3-D experience, but couldn’t because it was sold out or wasn't showing at a convenient time.” Once the film finishes its run, Katzenberg predicts 70-75% of Monsters total box office will have come from 3-D screens.
The article quotes Marketing to Moviegoers author Robert Marich, who believes 3-D will magnify returns of films that are popular with audiences but won’t save films that are not.
DreamWorks Animation pulled out all the stops in promoting the film and will spend around $165 million worldwide to promote the film, which included an $8 million, 90-second spot that ran in the Super Bowl.
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