'Robinsons' leads 3-D revolution

Disney's adventure rewrites box office rules

By IAN MOHR

Disney's CG toon "Meet the Robinsons" may have not opened to whammo numbers over the latest frame, taking in $25.1 million and a second place finish behind laffer "Blades of Glory."

But the pic repped the latest step forward for digital 3-D as the widest rollout of its kind so far - and the biggest digital 3-D opening yet.

Playing on 581 screens, equipped with Real D technology, "Robinsons" raked in $7.1 million from those engagements, repping 28% of the pic's overall take.

Those results were generated from just 13% of the pic's total screen count of 3,413. Per screen average in 3-D popped to $12,220.

If only "Robinsons" had been able to hit more 3-D screens, it likely would have been able to open with more moolah, but the technology is still being rolled out. (Manhattan was the only town in which the pic played exclusively in 3-D in all its bows.)

Mouse House distribution head Chuck Viane said that the next threshold for 3-D will be rollouts of up to 1,200 screens, planned for pics such as Robert Zemeckis' "Beowulf" next fall.

Of course any 3-D numbers are beefed up because most exhibs charge premium prices for the eye-catching experience. Then again, the size of the average 3-D cinema maxes out at about 250 seats, driving down how many potential moviegoers can pack a screening.

"Exit polls show that digital 3-D clearly adds another dimension of enjoyment to the experience, and lets moviegoers feel more connected than ever," said Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group prexy Mark Zoradi.

Disney brass had been hoping that "Robinsons"' 3-D engagement would put its pic to the top as a No. 1 over the weekend.

Though the finish didn't hit the top of the charts, it was 3-D biz that buoyed its B.O.

Disney re-released Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas" last year on just 187 screens to bring in over $9 million in added business from the pic's original 1993 run.