- CALIFORNIA: Disney CEO Bob Iger defended the company's production of 3-D films Thursday after 3-D ticket sales for several recent movies lagged their predecessors.
- It's "way too early to write 3-D's epitaph," Iger said at the D: All Things Digital conference.
"I think a lot of conclusions are being reached about a business that's still relatively new." Industry experts point out that The Walt Disney Co.'s fourth «Pirates of the Caribbean» movie and the second installment of «Kung Fu Panda,» from DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc., generated around 40 percent of their revenue from 3-D screenings, compared with about 60 percent from earlier films such as "Shrek Forever After" and "How to Train Your Dragon."
Some analysts trimmed estimates on DreamWorks and 3-D technology company RealD Inc. as a result. Shares of RealD are down about 14 percent since the weekend, DreamWorks shares are down 7 percent and Disney shares are off about 3 percent. Higher ticket prices and a sense among consumers that 3-D is a gimmick are hurting attendance domestically, an effect that may carry over overseas, where 3-D is still booming.
