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'Battle for Terra' waged in 2D

June 30, 2009 At the ESCA conference here in Los Angeles last week, I moderated a panel on 3D in home entertainment out of which (I thought) there were two interesting and provocative bits. One was the consensus that if standards on advanced home 3D were not adopted soon, meaning by early 2010, DVD and Blu-ray marketers will take things into their own hands, releasing titles in 3D without an industry standard. 

The other was the idea that many of the 3D box-office hits of this year will be released on home entertainment formats in the fourth quarter in 2D only, with the studios unwilling to risk putting out discs that provide an anaglyph 3D experience inferior to theaters. 

The first evidence of that is in, with Lionsgate announcing Battle for Terra for DVD and Blu-ray on Sept. 22,
in its 2D incarnation only. Terra was released in theaters in 2D and 3D, and performed softly, in part because it overlapped 3D pheonom Monsters vs Aliens' monster run, no doubt.

Industry execs say there are many factors that will go into decisions about whether or not to release in 3D this fall, including the added cost of a 3D disc release and consumers likelihood of buying a 3D version. Some research shows people who saw 2D versions in theaters are more likely to buy the movie on DVD than those who caught the theatrical in 3D.

Posted by Marcy Magiera on June 30, 2009 | Comments (0)