Beowulf - Is 3D Cinema a Sign of Things to Come?

Beowulf, the splashy production starring Anthony Hopkins, Angelina Jolie and John Malkovich opens today in theaters across America. But this isn’t an ordinary movie. It’s the biggest 3D presentation yet with over 700 theaters across North America ready to show it in the full 3D animation format. Movie goers can decide between IMAX 3D, Real D or Dolby 3D Digital Cinema.

While audiences will watch a wet, nude and CGI Angelina Jolie step out a subterranean lagoon, execs across the entertainment industry will be watching box office tallies. That’s because a lot of big money is being bet that audiences will be left clamoring for more digital 3D. It could be the next cinematic hook that gives the Movie Theater a leg up on home theater and piracy.

Greg Foster, President of IMAX has his 3D glasses focused on the PG-13 demographic. He’s already pleased to report that opening weekend presentations of “Beowulf” are practically sold out. Foster's aiming for the teen and young adult audiences who he believes will be excited by the new format.

Current estimates speculate thousands more 3D movie theaters coming online by 2009. Big budget projects are already underway to fill the seats of the new digital movie houses. Dreamworks Animation is working on “Monsters vs. Aliens,” sure to be a real gem. James Cameron is also readying his 3D science fiction thriller “Avatar.” Warner, a strong 3D supporter, reports it’ll release the next Batman movie “The Dark Knight” in 3D. And if that weren’t enough 3D thrills and chills you’ll also get to see a U2 concert presented in full IMAX 3D early next year - now that’s scary!

Will 3D be the next big thing in motion picture technology, comparable to sound and color? Or will it prove to be just another  fad?

Fortunes will surely be riding on Monday morning’s box office tallies.