Weekly CineBUZZ Report - 9 August 2011

Box Office Recap

$54.8 million (and $23.4 million internationally) powered Rise of the Planet of the Apes (Fox) to first place over the weekend.  The photo-realistic apes were the real stars of the pic and although using advanced performance capture technology, the "Rise" only cost $93 million so it should be a real winner for Fox.

The Smurfs (Sony), came up with a solid $20.7 million in its second week of play (it has now grossed over $75 million) and took second place. Cowboys & Aliens, The Change Up, and Captain America rounded out the top five.

The Change Up (Universal), an adult comedy, debuted at a dismal $13.5 million and didn't perform nearly as well as Horrible Bosses (Warner) which has now passed the $100 million mark, or certainly Bridesmaids (also Universal) which is over $166 million at last count.  Perhaps the folks are just feed up with comedies for the time being. Ah, but moviegoers never seem to get enough of the high impact/action pics.

Rise of the Planet of 3D Porn

3D Porn - but soft only please.

Guess what's breaking 3D movie box office records in the international market?  Give Up?  OK,  Sex and Zen 3D - Extreme Ecstasy, a movie that bills itself as " the first serious 3D porn film". The film was co-produced by Fox International Products and the Huayi Brothers, and is being distributed internationally by China Lion Film Distribution.  This is a soft porn movie which beat opening day grosses of Avatar in Austrailia and Hong Kong.  It will be distributed in China this September with a fall opening in the U.S. and Canada.  AMC Theatres and Cineplex Odeon have the U.S. and Canadian distribution rights respectively.

We all knew (deepdown) that porn in 3D was as inevitable as rain, but is there a real need (sorry, demand) for it? Hmmm, I guess only the box office will tell.  Hey look, if regular pics can't get moviegoers to fork over the premium 3D upcharge maybe porn (soft only, we don't want soccer moms picketing the local cineplex) can. Look for Sex and Zen 3D at a cinema near you.

3D-TV vs. 3D Movies  

The folks that do TV production are taking a different tack in the use of 3D programming vs. their big screen counterparts.  We all know that the benefit of 3D is to add emotional impact but what has been served up by Hollywood thus far hasn't really added that much impact to the movie experience.  The 3D movie experience has gotten old and predictable pretty quickly and as moviegoers are charged more for it, 3D has been losing box office momentum.

But TV has taken a different approach. For example, Phil Orlins, production coordinator at ESPN (the cable sports network) thinks " the 3D experience must be impactful but its really hard to make it a positive experience for everyone. One person sees something they think is magical another sees it and says, "so what".  At ESPN we believe 3D has to make an impact or else there's no point to going down this road."   But, there is no benchmark on what good impactful 3D is.  I think 3D is actually more suited for TV than the movies.  ESPN attracts viewers that want to see sports and not those that are interested in a cooking show.  Movies try to please everyone and get the biggest demographic possible and therein lies the problem - trying to please everyone with the 3D experience waters its impact down.

New 3D Viewing Standard for TV

X-Pand 3D Active Shutter 3D Glasses

Panasonic, Samsung, and Sony have signed a deal with X6D Ltd. (X-Pand D) on the development of a new technology standard for consumers which will use radio frequency (RF)  via BlueTooth for 3D TV, PC, and mobile devices.
Universal glasses would make 3D viewing much easier for consumers.  The glasses will be available in 2012, no price was given.

Best and Happy Movie Going !
Jim Lavorato