"The Jazz Singer" brought sound to the movies. "Becky Sharp" did the same for color. Now "Monsters vs. Aliens" is accelerating Hollywood's 3-D revolution.
Change in the movie business usually happens at a glacial pace, but the surging popularity of 3-D movies, dramatized by "Monsters vs. Aliens' " $59.3-million opening weekend -- the biggest for a 3-D movie -- has directors and studio executives quickly reconsidering which, and how many, of their future film projects can be reworked into the immersive medium.
" 'Monsters vs. Aliens' is the BC-AD of the 3-D platform," said Greg Foster, chairman and president of Imax Filmed Entertainment, which sold $5.1 million of tickets for the animated film's opening weekend in large-format Imax theaters, almost all of which showed the space-invasion comedy in 3-D. "Fifteen years from now, when people are talking about 3-D, they will talk about the business before 'Monsters vs. Aliens' and the business after 'Monsters vs. Aliens.' It's the line in the sand."
Like many recent 3-D hits ("Journey to the Center of the Earth," "Bolt") that preceded it, DreamWorks Animation's "Monsters vs. Aliens" is a kid-friendly film. But the next wave of 3-D titles will include R-rated horror, some general audience live-action comedies and perhaps even an art-house film or two.
"You could do 'My Dinner With Andre' in 3-D, and it would be incredibly compelling," said Patrick Lussier, director of January's "My Bloody Valentine," the first modern horror movie in 3-D. "Suddenly, you are seeing that this new venue is more than a fad."
The filmmaking brothers Peter and Bobby Farrelly are considering making their planned live-action feature "The Three Stooges" in 3-D, Lionsgate Films is developing as many as half a dozen potential 3-D movies, and Walt Disney Co. is using the stereoscopic technique not only for a flood of upcoming animated films but also for live-action titles, including the dance movie "Step Up 3-D" and a remake of the sci-fi story "Tron."
At last week's ShoWest, the annual convention of movie theater owners, DreamWorks Animation SKG head Jeffrey Katzenberg celebrated the format's rapid growth: By his count, there are more than 40 3-D movies in production, with the release slate growing by 50%, with 10 titles set to come out this year and 15 in 2010.
Although making a movie in 3-D can add as much as 15% to a film's budget -- DreamWorks said 3-D added about $15 million to "Monsters vs. Aliens' " original $150-million budget -- the studios are rushing to the format for several reasons.
