DreamWorks to Theaters: Where's the 3D?

Katzenberg bemoans industry's slow move to digital screens

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Apr 30, 2008 12:28 PM CDT

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DreamWorks to Theaters: Where's the 3D? — In this computer animated image released by Paramount Pictures Shrek and Fiona are awakened by their old friends Donkey and Puss In Boots in a scene from DreamWorks' "Shrek the Third." The "Shrek" films have made blockbuster business out of subverting classic children's stories, presenting lovably... (AP Photo/DreamWorks Animation S.K.G., Paramount Pictures)

Movie theaters just aren’t adding digital and 3D screens fast enough, says DreamWorks animation chief Jeffrey Katzenberg, a big believer in the technology. DreamWorks has pledged to make all future releases available in 3D, at a cost of $15 million per film. But theater chains haven’t matched his enthusiasm. “Things have dragged along, and it’s been pretty disappointing,” he said.

Katzenberg spoke on a quarterly conference call, explaining to investors that he still thought he’d get a good return on the investment, but not as much as hoped. Out of the 37,000 movie screens in the US, just 4,000 are digitally equipped, and only 1,000 of those are 3D capable. He says theater chains will have to “get their act together very quickly.” (More animated movie stories.)

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