Avatar Creating Bottleneck at 3D Screens

Numbers are strong, but not record-setting

(NEWSER) - James Cameron's Avatar grossed $27 million in its opening day yesterday. The numbers for the 3-D epic are strong but unspectacular and may have been dinged by the East Coast blizzard. The storm will likely eat into overall weekend figures as well, but Cameron should take solace in the news that exit reviews are "truly fantastic," reports Variety . For the record, Cameron's Titanic came out almost exactly 12 years ago and grossed $8.7 million on its first day. More»

(NEWSER) - For filmmakers on the cutting edge, moviemaking has become a technological dance on an increasingly virtual stage, Wired reports. Producers now have virtual worlds built before shooting starts and routinely blur the difference between animation and live action. And though glasses are still required, 3-D cartoons are rapidly advancing from throw-away gimmick to the future of movies, advocates say. More»

With transition to digital helping trim cost, high-end movie business looking up

(NEWSER) - IMAX, the format synonymous with a high-end, big-screen movie experience, is poised for a Hollywood comeback as spectacular as anything in theaters, USA Today reports. With new digital projectors trimming costs dramatically, IMAX will increase North American venues 80% by the end of 2009—and movie studios are getting on board, trusting the format with the likes of Speed Racer and The Dark Knight this year. More»

Camcorder killer coming to a theater near you

(NEWSER) - Movie makers are preparing to launch a major assault on video piracy—in 3-D. In two years, more than 4,000 theaters will be 3-D-ready, and top studios are gearing up to create films in the new format, which can't be recorded off the screen. Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson are using it, and James Cameron is filming his first feature since Titanic in the format. More»

Duo will begin 3-D trilogy as early as the end of the year

(NEWSER) - The men behind Jurassic Park's ferocious dinosaurs and King Kong's gargantuan ape will soon be the men behind a tiny white dog named Snowy. Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson are teaming up to produce and direct a trilogy of movies based on The Adventures of Tintin, George Remi's popular French comic books about a young Belgian reporter and his dog. More»