Media Money
- The Future of The Media Landscape
- Predictions 2010: Media
- Why Careful Shoppers Are Great for the Box Office
- Black Friday at Best Buy
- Facebook's Biggest-Ever Holiday Shopping Season
- Facebook's New Dual Class Structure - Slow Steps to an IPO
- Can Murdoch Help Bing Challenge Google and Shift the Content Equation?
- Twilight, Inc., A Worldwide Craze
- Oprah to Leave Syndication in 2011
- Sony's E-Reader Shortage and the Digital Book Battle
RSS FEED
MOST SHARED
- Case Closed but Woods Scrutiny Continues
- Kohlberg Kravis Bidding for Morgan Stanley's CICC Stake
- UK Economy Turned, Inflation to Spike: BoE Economist
- Cisco Has 84% of Tandberg, Won't Extend Bid
- Keeping America Great
- Australia Regulator Opposes Caltex-Exxon Deal
- GE, Comcast Complete Deal Over NBC Universal: Source
- Toyota Takes Lead Position in Canada in November
- Treasury Assistance Comes at High Price For GM
- Unemployment to Peak at 10.5%: Moody's Economist
- 8 Stocks to Gain on Obama's Afghan Plan: Analysts
- BofA On Proposed Changes In The Housing Bailout Program
- The Future of The Media Landscape
- November Auto Sales Muddle Along
- Busch: What Obama Won't Say Tonight
- Stick with Equities—Avoid Emerging Markets: Laszlo Birinyi
- Pfizer Chomps On A Carrot
- Mortgage Applications Up as Rates Continue to Decrease
- Wal-Mart Targets Video Games with Latest Price Cuts
- 'Black Swan' Shuns Public Life Because of Bernanke
- Dubai World To Meet with Creditors Next Week
- FHA to Toughen Mortgage Rules in Lenders Crackdown
- Obama to Send More Troops; Seeks Afghanistan Exit
- GM Removes CEO Henderson; Whitacre Is Interim Chief
- Yahoo Expands Integration with Facebook
- Who Were the Biggest Winners And Losers This Year?
Text Size 
CNBC Correspondent
Today Disney [DIS
Loading...
()
] is bringing an old story into a new high-tech dimension: "Disney's A Christmas Carol" is the widest digital 3-D release ever. Of the movie's 3,683 theaters in the US, 2,035 are 3-D, including 181 Imax screens. The movie is also opening this weekend in 18 countries around the world, with many of those screens in 3-D.
The digital 3-D format has a reputation for packing theaters fuller than traditional 2-D showings despite higher ticket prices. The high margins and differentiation from giant home theaters make the long-delayed rollout of 3-D technology good news for both movie studios and theater chains like Regal [RGC
Loading...
()
] and Cinemark [CNK
Loading...
()
]. The limiting factor for 3-D films so far has been the limited number of screens. This wider 3-D release could give a sense of the potential for the December 18th release of 20th Century Fox's "Avatar" [NWS
Loading...
()
], which is the most highly anticipated and hyped 3-D film ever.
 |
CNBC.com |
Disney is investing a lot in making the movie "Disney's A Christmas Carol" a big enough hit at the theater that it can continue delivering revenue across Disney’s divisions (home video, consumer products, theme parks) for the long haul.
The movie cost a reported $175 million to produce, plus tens of millions more to market, with elaborate TV commercials that aim to capture the 3-D effects in the film, plus billboards, tie-ins, and a slew of new media applications.
There's an online game, a Facebook page, iPhone applications. The most unusual marketing piece: a five car train that carried an interactive exhibit promoting the show, through 40 cities, attracting a million visitors, and certainly costing a pretty penny.
All this investment is with the hope that Robert Zemeckis, who directed the film, will recreate the success he had with "The Polar Express." Like "The Polar Express," "Christmas Carol" uses digital animation combined with motion-capture technology. Warner Brothers' [TWX
Loading...
()
] "Polar Express" features Tom Hanks while "Christmas Carol" features another big-draw star, Jim Carrey.
Warner Brothers has cashed in on "Polar" year after year, re-releasing it every holiday season, and selling more than $300 million in tickets worldwide. Disney could easily have the same kind of recurrent holiday blockbuster if the film works, it certainly had tons of success re-releasing the first two "Toy Story" movies this fall.
The big question is whether this 3-D take on a familiar tale can lure in moviegoers. Will it be edgy enough for older audiences but not too scary for kids? Disney's watching the box office for signs of what kind of franchise its new take on an old story will yield over time.
Questions? Comments?
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes