'U23D' and Hannah Montana Compete for Digital 3-D Screens

The Wall Street Journal writes about two digital 3-D releases that are suddenly competing head-to-head for the roughly 700 3-D capable screens in the US.

From Sarah McBride's article:

..."U23D" has run into another 3-D concert movie: "Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour." The world of 3-D film exhibition, it turns out, isn't big enough for both Hannah and Bono. Originally scheduled to run for just one week, the "tween"-oriented Hannah Montana film was extended by theater owners because of overwhelming popularity -- sidelining Bono & Co. until Feb. 22 in most markets. For now, "U23D" remains largely at a few dozen Imax theaters.

The situation underscores the challenges of 3-D technology. The industry is touting 3-D as its best shot at combating increasingly sophisticated home-theater systems. Among the 3-D titles in the pipeline: "Toy Story 3D" from Disney's Pixar; "Monsters vs. Aliens" from DreamWorks Animation; and "Avatar," the next film from "Titanic" director James Cameron.

Also, here's a new blog from Jim Dorey on 3-D movies, called MarketSaw.