Digital 3D company REAL D has announced contracts with several theater chains to expand its global footprint, says a report in Daily Variety. REAL D manufactures and installs software and hardware that enable digital cinema projectors to show movies in 3D. Under the terms of the multiple contracts, REAL D will install an additional 104 systems on AMC screens, 75 for Regal Entertainment, 16 for Cinemark, five for Rave Motion Pictures, eight for Portugal’s Cinemas Lusomundo and two for Village Roadshow in Greece.
The new installations bring REAL D’s total install base worldwide to 680 screens. The company is aiming to hit at least 1,000 by the end of the year.
The life of the once moribund 3D technology had new life breathed into it a decade ago when the IMAX Corp. saw it as a way to pack large screen theaters at science museums and those in multiplexes. Since then, a number of big Hollywood films have been released day-and-date as 2D and 3D large-screen prints.
Disney’s Meet the Robinsons, set for release March 30, will use REAL D technology. Disney plans to project the toon digitally in at least 500 theaters.