As Sony bets the company on 3D TV, Hollywood studios are less optimistic that the technology will be the roaring success that Sony is hoping for.Last week senior Sony executives said that 3D TVs will make up between 30 per cent and 50 per cent of all Sony Bravia TV sets it sells in the financial year beginning April 2012.
Now a new report by leading consulting company PricewaterhouseCoopers claims that Hollywood studios have lingering budgetary and creative concerns and that very few studios are actually investing in 3D movies.
The report claims that several studios are taking a wait-and-see approach, with several of them predicting ‘slow growth’ until at least 2014. Others are waiting to see what will happen with the release of Jim Cameron’s Avatar, a 3D movie that could well be a benchmark for 3D movies.
PricewaterhouseCoopers claims that most 3D live-action production will be limited to sci-fi, horror and concert genres, and 3D-animated production by Disney and DreamWorks will be closely watched before studios make any sort of investment in 3D Technology.
Report authors Matthieu Aubusson and Vincent Teulade said, “The commitment of most studios will depend on the future success of these films and is expected to remain marginal.”
They claimed that overall, 3D releases will represent 10-15 per cent of annual film output, according to firm estimates. Cinema conversions to digital projection are “expected to be strong among the multiplex and large urban theatres and more limited among the small theatres,” the report said.
In Australia, 3D projection will be limited to a small number of cinemas, primarily in core metropolitan areas, say local cinema owners.
Core findings of the report are:
- 3D TV content “will be mainly driven by 3D video content, 3D console games and 3D TV programs”, with 3D TV programming limited mostly to telecasts of sporting and musical events.
- The rollout of 3D computer games will outpace that of gaming consoles.
- The development of 3D mobile phones is likely to remain “marginal” in most markets, with such devices finding limited embrace so far, even in tech-fervid Japan.
