This is topic ALICE & CLASH OF THE TITANS 3-D log jam in forum Ground Level at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.


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Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 03-19-2010, 04:36 PM:
 
I have not seen ALICE IN WONDERLAND yet and plan to either in RealD 3-D or Dolby 3-D but might not have the time before CLASH OF THE TITANS opens. I do not want to be like some of my friends who had to scramble to find only one 3-D house showing AVATAR in that format here in Honolulu after it had to make way for ALICE IN WONDERLAND. Will most of the digital 3-D houses that are now showing ALICE IN WONDERLAND have to make way for CLASH OF THE TITANS or will they continue to run it? I understand CLASH OF THE TITANS was not originally scheduled to be in 3-D but it will be in both digital as well as film 3-D.

-Claude
 

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Posted by Jeremy Jorgenson (Member # 2989) on 03-19-2010, 04:58 PM:
 
Claude, don't forget that How To Train Your Dragon opens next Friday... it is also available in 3D! You might want to contact your local cinemas and ask if they've booked Dragon or are keeping on Alice starting next friday ... before you start worrying about Clash of the Titans.
 

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Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 03-19-2010, 05:16 PM:
 
Thanks, Jeremy

I forgot about HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON opening next week. I guess I will somehow how have to find a way to see ALICE IN WONDERLAND by next Thursday because HTTYD is advertised in all digital 3-D formats including IMAX.

I know I will not have to worry about HTTYD because I have no interest in 3-D animated movies and have no plans to see it. Beside crappy 3-D films with a lot of 'In Your Face' gimmicks, the public could very well lose interest in 3-D if the studios continue to release only animated pictures in 3-D and do not produce live action movies in that format with good stories. By the time this has happened in the fifties, 3-D was already dying.

-Claude
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 03-19-2010, 10:07 PM:
 
How To Train A Dragon is the ONLY movie among the current batch of 3D releases I have any desire to see in 3D. I'm not wasting my time and money on 2D faked into 3D. At least How To Train A Dragon is being rendered natively for it.
 

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Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 03-20-2010, 10:43 AM:
 
It's going to be interesting to see how long the fickle public is going to have an appetite for cartoons, 3D or not. When we were kids and Disney was the only game in town, The Rodent knew how to pace their animated output; they were masters at creating an event-type aura around every single release; they would promote the crap each on The Wonderful World of Disney as well as every other media outlet. They knew how to building anticipation. That kind of grooming a title is a lost art. Not only Disney, but the entire industry has diminished the awe of movies.

It will be very interesting if the pubic will be able to sustain a desire to see back-to-back animated features at this current output. I sure can't.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 03-20-2010, 02:03 PM:
 
PDI/Dreamworks and Pixar are both averaging 1 movie release per year. Pixar is consistently making one hit after another. PDI/Dreamworks seems to be getting better and better.

The only thing creating a "log jam" of sorts on animated movies is all the other also ran types of animated releases that just aren't nearly as good.
 

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Posted by Matt Fields (Member # 3211) on 03-20-2010, 02:51 PM:
 
Dreamworks has three this year...Dragon, Shrek, and Megamind. That seems a bit much to me. Pixar has a better pace of one or so a year.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 03-20-2010, 04:16 PM:
 
True, but for every Pixar masterpiece there is at least one lesser item such as "G-Force" or "Princess and the Frog." The Disney films are usually at least good quality films, if not great grossers. With the others, it's like the Forrest Gump box of chocolates...you never know what you're gonna get. I didn't like the last Shrek at all.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 03-20-2010, 04:40 PM:
 
I forgot about the Shrek sequel and don't know about that other PDI/Dreamworks feature.

I agree the Shrek franchise has run out of gas. The first Shrek movie was the only one I really liked. The premise for the fourth movie seems interesting, but I don't have high expectations. I didn't care much for the Madagascar sequel either.

PDI/Dreamworks' other recent movies have been better. Kung Fu Panda was a surprisingly good movie. I liked Monsters vs. Aliens enough to buy it on Blu-ray.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 03-20-2010, 08:53 PM:
 
I really liked the original "Hoodwinked" and was looking forward to the sequel. It was supposed to be released this spring but has been postponed. (They're probably turning it into 3D.)
 

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Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 03-21-2010, 07:29 PM:
 
This kind of problem has been very good to Technicolor 3D. Louis
 

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Posted by Elise Brandt (Member # 5552) on 03-21-2010, 11:59 PM:
 
WHat amazez me over here in the north, is that tey've managed to rate HTTYD -K9/11- that is to say, no kids under nine years old, and nine to 11 with adults. Ouch. That'll cut the people out by half. Animations do tend to be the favorite among parents with kids under 11... more like five to ten.

Once Clash opens it'll be three 3D movies on at the same time for us. That's a loooot of glasses to wash...
 

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Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 03-23-2010, 01:18 PM:
 
Frank, we already see a burn out factor with a number of animated films - as well as family films in general. With so many movies going to DVD so quickly, many parents are willing to pay to take their family to every single family movie. The Pixar films and thinks like Shrek or Kung Fu Panda will continue to do well because they have a higher perceived value than most of the others.

Just in the last year, look at the performance of such titles as The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Planet 51, Astroboy, Aliens in the Attic, and The Battle for Terra. To a lesser extent you could also include 9 and Coraline.
 

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Posted by Barry Floyd (Member # 385) on 03-23-2010, 01:57 PM:
 
As a drive-in, what we are seeing with our "double feature" combos is that when the currently hot 3D title gets bumped out of the 3D house at the indoor, the indoors are scrambling up all of the available 2D 35mm prints for hold-overs - making it harder for us to score a print at all much less a co-feature. Since we have been booking titles this year on the break, it hasn't been as hard on us. For some of my fellow drive-in owners with single screens, they are having a harder time getting anything. best thing I ever did was add my second screen.
 

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Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 03-23-2010, 09:00 PM:
 
Agreed. The 3rd one is better still. Small is OK. 100 cars. Louis
 

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Posted by Caleb Johnstone-Cowan (Member # 3710) on 03-24-2010, 04:58 PM:
 
I thought How To Train Your Dragon might slip away as the trailer was crap and I haven't got much buzz about it. However I just came back from a preview and it's formulaic but great fun with fantastic animation in parts. The film will get good word of mouth as being something the whole family can enjoy. Which will put more pressure on 3D screens.
 

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Posted by Mike Frese (Member # 4361) on 03-25-2010, 11:16 AM:
 
An 8-plex near me with one 3d screen is passing completely on Dragon. Not even running it in 2d. Instead a 4th week of Alice and Titans in 3d next week.
 

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Posted by Jonathan Althaus (Member # 5042) on 03-25-2010, 01:05 PM:
 
There are 4 of our theatres relatively close to each other with 1 3D screen apiece and 2 got Dragon, while the other 2 (us included) got another week of Alice with Clash next week.
 

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Posted by Mike Frese (Member # 4361) on 03-25-2010, 03:23 PM:
 
Jonatahn,

The theaters that did not get it on 3d, did they get in 2d?
 

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Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 03-25-2010, 06:31 PM:
 
The Regal Perlhighland at Pearl City Hawaii near where I live will show both HOW TO TRAIN A DRAGON and CLASH OF THE TITANS in RealD 3-D. The complex only has one auditorium set up for 3-D and I am sure thy are not playing HTTYD for only a week in 3-D and movie it into a 2-D house a week later. Like their other complex in Honolulu, the Dole Cannery 18, they too will have two 3-D screens. It is now that sign of the time for many major complex to have more than one 3-D screen.

-Claude
 

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Posted by Chad Souder (Member # 343) on 03-25-2010, 09:49 PM:
 

quote: Mike Frese

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An 8-plex near me with one 3d screen is passing completely on Dragon. Not even running it in 2d. Instead a 4th week of Alice and Titans in 3d next week.

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They're not voluntarily passing, Paramount is forcing their hand. Clash is predicted to do more box than Dragon, so theatres with only 1 3D screen are booking Clash. Paramount doesn't want to give them Dragon for one week, so it's either play it for longer or don't get it at all. Further, Paramount is really being tough by not allowing those theatres with 3D capability that choose not to show Dragon 3D to have a 2D version either. Point fingers where you want but that is the reason.

This is what exhibitors and distributers alike have been fearing for more than a year. 3D caught fire and there aren't enough screens to play everything. The end result, regardless of blame, is customers will be mad this weekend that their local plex isn't showing Dragon in 3D.
 

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Posted by Mike Frese (Member # 4361) on 03-25-2010, 10:52 PM:
 
According to Rentrak: 4055 Locations for Dragon.

Monsters vs Aliens last March: 4104
Horton Hears a Who in march of 2008: 3954
 

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Posted by Jonathan Althaus (Member # 5042) on 03-26-2010, 02:00 PM:
 
Mike

One theatre did, but we didn't, being in a competition zone. I'm sure the theatres that are playing Dragon 3D will get Clash in 2D.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 03-26-2010, 09:34 PM:
 
While I don't necessarily agree with Paramount's strong arm tactics on booking How to Train Your Dragon, the animated movie with the dragons appears like it might be a better choice to book.

I've never had a fully positive vibe about the Clash of the Titans remake, even when it was originally sold as a "2D" movie. I don't know, I just have this nagging feeling that the movie may turn out to be a turd. I want to like it, but the movie still has that hint of being plain bad. And it's a remake.

The "dragons" movie isn't following sequels, prequels or TV shows. With 97 reviews counted thus far at Rotten Tomatoes, 94 of those reviews are positive, giving How to Train Your Dragon a clearly impressive 97% score. Let's see how Titans does next week.

I have no doubt at all Clash of the Titans will make some serious money, certainly for the first 2 or 3 weeks. But I may not bother to see it at all if it scores badly at Rotten Tomatoes. I might see it at the theater if it does 75% or better with the critics, but I'll still only watch it in 2D. Screw paying anything extra for fake 3D. If the movie scores below 60% it will be tough for me to bother renting it on Blu-ray; I may only check it out in bits or the whole on cable.
 

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Posted by Mike Frese (Member # 4361) on 03-27-2010, 10:13 AM:
 
Bobby,

Rotten Tomatoes (and critics in general) tend(s) to be a contrarian indicator in my market. I am worried about that 97% for Dragon.
 

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Posted by Thomas Pitt (Member # 4322) on 03-29-2010, 09:15 AM:
 
The VUE Leeds Light has decided to continue showing Alice alongside Dragon this week. Dragon is on screen 13 (largest auditorium) while Alice is on screen 11 (medium auditorium). I wonder if that was the reason behind getting two screens converted to Real-D instead of just one?

Clash of the Titans isn't released in this country until Good Friday, and the showing times haven't been allocated yet - but I assume it'll be going on screen 13, Dragon may be pushed to screen 11, and Alice will be 2D showings only.

Edit: How to Train your Dragon is allegedly 98 minutes, according to the VUE website. They have a showing at 12:30pm, which finishes at 2:30pm. So does that mean there will be a whopping 20 MINUTES of adverts and trailers?
 

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Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 03-29-2010, 11:19 AM:
 
I just installed my first DP2K-20C (Series 2) projector on Friday specifically for a client that wanted to free the log jam. They are playing BOTH Alice and Dragon and will then have Titans and Dragon, next week.

Oh...and watch out installers! Series 2 projectors do not play the same with either servers or Real D as their series 1 counterparts! You will likely need software updates for the server (Dolby sure did) and for Real-D, some of the 3D parameters changed...including this new one for "interleaved" . A big one is the "Eye dominance"...If it was Right, you need to make it Left. If you don't you get this weird fluttery effect when objects move though they look normal when still or when looking with only one eye. Your other Real-D parameters seem to have changed too (dark time and output delay).

Steve
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 03-29-2010, 02:18 PM:
 

quote: Mike Frese

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Rotten Tomatoes (and critics in general) tend(s) to be a contrarian indicator in my market. I am worried about that 97% for Dragon.

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quote: Thomas Pitt

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So does that mean there will be a whopping 20 MINUTES of adverts and trailers?

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