BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield has urged clients to sell or short shares in RealD, the company that provides 3D technology to most theaters and 3D television manufacturers. Greenfield said that he spoke last week with an executive of RealD who said that he expects 75 percent of movies in theaters will eventually be in 3D. Such a projection, Greenfield argues, is "totally disconnected from reality." Greenfield himself sees a severe drop to well below the 45 percent of ticket sales that most 3D films currently account for "as consumers increasingly reject 3D." He points out that the dimness of the 3D picture is only one of the problems that 3D exhibition faces, but that it may be the most serious. Greenfield refers to recent reports indicating that Paramount and director Michael Bay have asked exhibitors to turn up the brightness on their projectors. But Greenfield observes that doing so will increase costs to exhibitors "so it is questionable whether they wil follow Paramount's request." Greenfield also criticizes the studios for allegedly forcing some exhibitors to screen 3D prints of blockbusters by insisting that they run the 3D version or they will be given none at all.

27/06/2011