Dwayne Johnson Set For JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH Sequel

THR is claiming that Dwayne Johnson is now attached as the top line star for New Line's JOURNEY 2: THE ROCK THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND.

Brendan Frasier had scheduling conflicts and is unable to return, although director Brad Peyton and Josh Hutcherson are back for the sequel.

Apparently the movie is loosely based on Jules Verne's THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND and Johnson plays Hutcherson's mother's boyfriend. All three travel to a mythical island is search of the young man's grandfather.

Shooting will take place in North Carolina and Hawaii in native 3D.

More when I get it!

Brendan Fraser Not Returning To The Center Of The Earth?

Brendan Fraser may not be making that trip after all. According to Deadline, Fraser is closer to leaving JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH 2 than returning, as the project will be going forward with a different director than Fraser would prefer. Eric Brevig (Fraser's choice) is still engaged with YOGI BEAR and is not available for the sequel and which has prompted New Line / Walden to set up Brad Peyton (CATS & DOGS: THE REVENGE OF KITTY GALORE; a conversion btw) for the director's chair. JOURNEY will be shot in native 3D, just like the original.

It doesn't matter who is at the helm for actor Josh Hutcherson (Fraser's nephew in the original) - he is returning for the sequel.

I see Fraser returning. Personally I think the two parties will meet somewhere in the middle and get him back in the driver's seat. Fraser has a HUGE worldwide following and is needed to ensure a successful second crack at the franchise. Just a hunch. What do you think?

"Journey To The Center Of The World" Makes Semi Finals For Oscar's Visual Effects Bakeoff

This is great news for 3D fans everywhere: JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH has just made it to the semi-finals of the Academy's visual effects bakeoff!

According to Variety, the Walden, New Line and Warner sci-fi family movie surpassed the efforts of other well known and lucrative blockbusters "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull", "Cloverfield" and "Hancock" to be considered for the covented award.

Joining JOURNEY for the Oscar consideration are "Australia," "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," "The Dark Knight," "Hellboy II," "Iron Man," and "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor."

Apparently the Academy will have to set up a digital 3D projector in the main Goldwyn Theater as it has not been updated yet.

Variety reports: "At the bakeoff, the seven semi-finalists for the Oscar will present 15-minute reels of visual effects highlights and have a few minutes to answer questions from the Acad's visual effects branch. Immediately afterward the members cast their votes for the three nominees."

If you are interested, the bake off is open to the public and being held Jan. 15 at 7:30 p.m. - no admission charge.

New On DVD And Blu-ray: "Journey To The Center Of The Earth" - With 4 3D Glasses

Thanks to Jason for the headsup.

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH will be released on October 28th on DVD and Blu-ray and will feature both 2D and 3D versions of the movie - and will include four 3D glasses. You can pre-order with the movie link above.

The family oriented action adventure is based on the original classic Jules Verne story. If you didn't see it in theaters than you definitely missed out on some fun - but there is always the 3D Home Videos route.

The T-Rex scenes are awesome - and so is the Icelandic scenery (congrats to Vince Pace on his work on these segments).

"Journey 3-D" Journeys Past $100 Million Mark!

Michael here.  Congratulations to Journey to the Center of the Earth 3-D on passing $100 million at the domestic box office this weekend!  According to the Hollywood Reporter, 66% of the gross, or just over $66 million dollars, comes from 3-D prints.

What an amazing success story for the first ever modern live-action feature length 3-D film!

How Have Modern 3D Movies Performed? Outrageous Opening Averages, Longevity And Blockbusters!

Let's take a look at the modern box office for 3D movies since last fall's BEOWULF. (For box office performance listings of all 3D movies since 1980 see here). Can we take any meaningful insight from the numbers? Below are the movies thus far listed in order from the top box office take on down, and note two are still in theaters:

1. BEOWULF
$82,195,215 (Domestic) / $113,994,739 (International) / $196,189,954 TOTAL
- Opening Weekend: $27,515,871 from 3,153 theaters, $8,726 average
- Widest Release: 3,249 theaters
- In Release: 77 days / 11 weeks
NOTE: Beowulf was released in many more 2D screens than the other movies shown here - example: This summer's JOURNEY movie was only at 2,830 theaters at it's widest release which falls 400 or so short of BEOWULF.




2. JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH**
$91,893,000 (Domestic) / $22,552,547 (International) / $114,445,547 TOTAL
- Opening Weekend: $21,018,141 from 2,811 theaters, $7,477 average
- Widest Release: 2,830 theaters
- In Release: 45 days / 6.4 weeks**
NOTE: On mainly pure 3D adrenalin, JOURNEY topped BEOWULF domestically after only a month of release.





3. HANNAH MONTANA / MILEY CYRUS: BEST OF BOTH WORLDS CONCERT TOUR
$65,281,781 (Domestic) / $5,216,966 (International) / $70,498,747 TOTAL
- Opening Weekend: $31,117,834 from 683 theaters, $45,560 average
- Widest Release: 687 theaters
- In Release: 105 days / 15 weeks
NOTE: Hannah's $45,560 even beats THE DARK KNIGHT'S 4,366 theaters opening at a $36,282 average.





4. U2 3D
$9,339,861 (Domestic) / $7,702,666 (International) / $17,042,527 TOTAL
- Opening Weekend: $1,026,121 from 686 theaters, $1,495 average
- Widest Release: 686 theaters
- In Release: 212 days / 30.3 weeks
NOTE: Look at the longevity of U2 3D! Even as the marketing has wound down and much of the buzz has disappeared, it marches on.





5. FLY ME TO THE MOON**
$4,185,000 (Domestic) / $2,530,969 (International) / $6,715,969 TOTAL
- Opening Weekend: $1,900,523 from 452 theaters, $4,204 average
- Widest Release: 540 theaters
- In Release: 10 days / 1.4 weeks NOTE: Even though a comparison can be made to U2 3D with the shortage of 3D screens for this movie, FLY ME has a much higher average take on the opening weekend which bodes well for an extremely long release.

**Still in theaters





So what can we glean from the numbers? Plenty. For one - there is simply an ample market for 3D. If you take a fairly straight forward picture like JOURNEY and can pull in $100 million domestically you know you are on to something. JOURNEY was nothing more than a fun, family oriented thrill ride and was presented as such - audiences have responded and enthusiastically so. Was 3D the deciding factor in this success? Undoubtedly yes. 3D allowed the audience to become immersed in the action and bring us closer to the 'reality' the director wanted to create. The 2D screens did much less business than the 3D and as you can see the international take is much lower than domestic as the 3D screens are simply not there.

But BEOWULF is a $200 million movie! Why so much appeal? Story. Blend the engagement of a recognized and well told story with 3D immersion and voila! A true phenomenon. Story played the key role in the international success of BEOWULF as there simply are not many 3D screens available outside of North America - but remember that in the fall of 2008 there were not all that many in North America either. Zemeckis recognized this and told the story perfectly to audiences in both 2D and 3D. Many would argue that Angelina Jolie shares some of the credit however.

Hannah Montana's concert movie proved to many people that 3D was here to stay. While BEOWULF confused many into thinking that all 3D movies are 100% CGI. Hannah helped dispel that notion with it's live action cinematography. Look at those opening weekend averages per theater - an eye popping $45,560! Even THE DARK KNIGHT could not skyhook better than that! It is simply unheard of. Hannah went on to huge numbers in North America where she has captured the imagination of many 'tweens' - but did her concert prove anything about 3D? Yes. As I just mentioned it introduced live action 3D. But moreover, it allowed the current generation of 'tweens' to claim ownership over the medium and they will be expecting more and more 3D content from now on. Thirdly and not surprisingly so, Hannah proved that should a successful 3D movie hold over as Disney did with this one, it can tear away box office from other 3D focused movies that cannot break into the 3D screens in time. Yes, I am talking about U2 3D. U2 3D's low numbers reflect 2D screens and 3D IMAX screens essentially. Disney and Hannah had a stranglehold that they would not relinquish.

But I could also be talking about FLY ME TO THE MOON. As I type this post, JOURNEY (July 11th) is still enjoying over 1000 theaters showing the picture while the freshly released (Aug 15th) FLY ME is mired in only 540. While it is great for 3D that the first live action adventure movie will hit $100 million, we need more 3D screens. Much more.

And that is what all the fuss has been about over the past 12 months. Getting action behind the words and getting those 3D screens installed. Revenue is clearly being lost and not just 2D revenue, but the 33-50% more that 3D allows theater chains to enjoy. Audiences are missing out on the entertainment too. Many would like to see the FLY ME animation but simply cannot yet. Count me as one of them...

As momentum builds into what will become the "Year of 3D" - 2009, look for all those commitments for new 3D screens to be honored and for Hollywood's 3D chrysalis stage to emerge in spectacular fashion. I can't think of a better way to ice the whole thing off than with James Cameron's AVATAR. And you thought Hannah Montana had some great opening buzz - you haven't seen ANYTHING yet. 3D will own the records books shortly I promise you.

Stats courtesy of Box Office Mojo

Carmike 2Q08 Results: 3D Kicks Ass

Well of course! Jim here. Take a look at Carmike Cinema's second quarter results for this year here. The theater chain had wonderful things to say about 3D and in particular these nuggets:

"Moving briefly to our third quarter box office, through our digital 3D cinema platform, we were able to show Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D on 327 screens and generate a combined box office concession revenue of approximately $6.5 million. We are pleased with the results from this 3D presentation, which generated fives times the per screen revenue compared to our 2D average screen performance. This allowed us to enjoy nearly a 100% increase in our normal share of the industry domestic market.

Additionally, we experienced no customer push-back from our $2 3D surcharge.

With the success of Hannah Montana during our first quarter, followed by Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D, we remain optimistic regarding the upcoming 3D release of Fly Me to the Moon in August, a re-release of Nightmare Before Christmas in October, and Bolt in November. We see this 3D technology as a key component in supporting our box office performance during the upcoming years. The schedule for 3D release in 2009 is My Bloody Valentine in January, [Cora Line] and Disney’s Jonas Brothers in Concert, both in February, Monsters Versus Aliens in March, Ice Age in July, Toy Story 3D in October, A Christmas Story in November, and of course, Avatar in December"

(Emphasis and color are mine).

And further...

"Looking forward, we are currently evaluating our option to install our final 100 3D units. The current units have the newest technology, allowing us to offer the 3D experience in our largest auditoriums an ability we could not offer at the time we rolled out our 3D program in the last two years.

This new installation will completely cover our entire circuit’s need and allow us to meet any attendance demands for future 3D tent-pole pictures such as Monster Versus Aliens and Avatar.

You have obviously heard of the major success of Dark Knight and its passing the $400 million mark recently. We have shared in this success as well as the 3D movie, Journey to the Center of the Earth, where we increased our national circuit market share by almost 100%. We also experienced a five-to-one ratio box office sales at our 3D locations compared to our 2D locations. I think it is interesting to point out that we played Journey 3D in 187 locations and only had 12 locations playing the movie in 2D, a clear indication of how saturated we have the 3D system throughout our circuit.

As of August the 15th, there are 23 3D films on the schedule through 2010, representing nine different national film distributors which clearly demonstrates this industry’s commitment for 3D"

Here is an interesting question and answer exchange:

David Miller - Caris & Company

"Okay, wonderful. And then the $2 up-charge for Journey to the Center of the Earth, can you guys just give me your overall sort of 100,000 foot view as to what kind of elasticity in pricing that might carry going forward? I mean, Jeff Katzenberg, we cover DreamWorks Animation, you know, he’s been talking rhetorically about a $5 up-charge for some of his films. A lot of the guys at DCIP were talking about maybe a $3 up-charge as being standard. It looks like you charged $2 for Journey. Could you just comment as to any wiggle room in the future with that up-charge? Thanks"

Fred W. Van Noy

"When we played Meet the Robinsons, we had 10 locations that we pushed that $2 to $2.50, kind of just to test the waters. With Journey, we had 17% of our play dates at the $2.50 level. I think that of course we’ll continue to push this. We had absolutely no push back with the 17%. They were of course our larger markets but as we get to Bolt, I think Bolt will be the movie that we will be able to really escalate this price up a little bit higher.

And as far as a $5 threshold or a $3 threshold, we are just going to keep testing the market and see where it will take us."

It doesn't take much to see where 3D is going: A better experience for audiences and a better bottom-line for the industry - win/win. I don't know about you, but I find it very fulfilling to watch the various movie site naysayers jump on the 3D bandwagon more and more as time goes by. Glad they are joining us! It's about time... :-)

"Journey To The Center Of The Earth" 3D Still Kicking Butt

Jim here. Well what do you know? JOURNEY 3D is still raking in respectable dollars at the box office and after having recouped its production costs, it is now into pure profit mode. This is quite astounding as it had to fight off a couple of new entries this weekend, but it still managed to overcome THE X-FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE on Saturday and Sunday. Amazing.

Adding in the international receipts and JOURNEY 3D is now at ~$72m. The numbers are showing amazing durability for the 3D movie as more and more families are realizing the value of seeing it. There is little violence in the movie aside from an attacking T-Rex which never does land a bite and death is only hinted at and is not focused on at all. Some scenes can be intense yes, but can be easily explained away to a child of correct age. I feel comfortable bringing a child to this movie and so do others it seems! For such a moderate budget movie to do so well in 3D is awesome for the industry. Heck, JOURNEY 3D did twice the business of Hellboy 2 this weekend and they were released at the same time. Again the power of 3D screens comes to bear as JOURNEY 3D is in only 2,688 theaters, while X-FILES was in 3,185 and HB2 in 3,018.

The success of JOURNEY 3D is certainly setting the stage for FLY ME TO THE MOON which is due out in theaters this August 15th.

Images and Stats courtesy of Box Office Mojo

Quick Post: "Fly Me To The Moon" Launch Date Moved Up To August 15th! Check Out The Trailer...

Jim here. Summit Entertainment's FLY ME TO THE MOON has been moved up to August 15th for their release date in the US and Canada.

July 16, 1969. NASA's space program was in full swing. A moon landing was about to become a reality. Astronauts, Neil Armstrong, "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins headed up the historic mission.

That's what you do know... What you don't know is that FLY ME TO THE MOON is the story of how three ordinary flies, NAT, I.Q. and SCOOTER managed to sneak aboard the Apollo 11 and forever changed the course of history! Not to mention, gain heroic confidence, overcome a few death-defying challenges and just maybe put an end to the notion that "dreamers get swatted."

Hey great! The sooner the better. I think the trailer looked pretty good in front of JOURNEY 3D and whats with space missions always changing their launch dates anyway? :-) The trailer is below:

"Journey To The Center Of The Earth" 3D Poll Results Are In: 81% Checking It Out In Theaters!

Hey guys - Jim here. Just closed our latest 3D Poll question which asked: "How excited are you for "Journey to the Center of the Earth" in 3D - opening July 11th?" Over 80% of you are interested enough to go check it out in the theaters and another 7% will wait to view it on DVD or 3D media. Sure, MarketSaw's readership is skewed towards folks interested in 3D, but still it is a great indication of the level of acceptance for the movie.

Incidentally, "Journey" 3D has raked in over $45 million domestically ($57m worldwide) and ALMOST ($1,624,423) overtook "Hancock" ($1,684,785) for Monday) -- on a ~1000 fewer theaters mind you -- to take over the number 3 position behind "The Dark Knight" and "Mamma Mia"!

THAT is 3D at work baby. I love it.

Stats: Box Office Mojo

"Journey To The Center Of The Earth" Has Got Staying Power

As most of us expected, JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH has got some teeth. In fact JOURNEY beat out HELLBOY 2 on Friday! HB2 made only $3.16 million and a 38% increase over it's Thursday take on Friday - while JOURNEY made $3.59 million and a 56% jump from Thursday.

All this was done on ~400 fewer theaters! Journey was in only 2,830 theaters while HB2 enjoyed 3,212! What does this tell you?

It means that the 3D screens are performing and performing big time. Imagine the take for THE DARK KNIGHT had it had a 3D version? Staggering!! Sure they have the IMAX additional revenue when they set that record of $66 million, but it could have been all the more with another ~1400 3D screens!

Guillermo and Peter take note. The Hobbit(s) will be much better served in 3D not only because of the beauty and creativeness it brings you in storytelling, but also the bottom line. JOURNEY just beat out HB2 (both were released July 11th)! It must bother you a bit to see a pragmatic advantage given to a movie that you could have enjoyed too. Give The Hobbit(s) what they need: Stereoscopic rewards for the audience AND the studio.

The studio profits will be staggering for a wide release in 3D when the screen numbers get up there - there are only ~1400 3D screens right now, but as you have read on MarketSaw - those numbers have commitments in place from the major theater chains to double and triple. Bring it on!

Data Source: Box Office Mojo

"Journey" Box Office a Huge Success for 3D!

UPDATE: The weekend actuals are in, and Journey has surpassed the estimates, earning over $21 million!

Hey folks, Michael here with some great news for 3D.

This past weekend's 3D showings of Journey to the Center of the Earth had per-screen averages over 3 times higher than the 2D shows--a new RealD 3D record!

"We're really thrilled," said RealD chairman and CEO Michael Lewis. And they deserve to be. More than 57% - or $11.7 million - of Journey's estimated $20.6 million weekend box office came from its 854 3D screens, which comprised only 30% of its total 2811 venues.

These numbers mark a really big milestone for 3D. Besides yet again demonstrating that consumers will gladly spend a few extra bucks for the 3D experience, they prove that 3D is a format that works with all types of movies - not just the animated CG, documentaries, and concert films that have been successful thus far.

The groundwork has been laid. Now let the 3D rollout continue!


**Editor's Note: I thought that was Bono for a second...

What 3D Trailers Are Playing In Front Of "Journey To The Center Of The Earth 3-D"?

**UPDATE - July 11th: nycjason reports that FLY ME TO THE MOON and BOLT both previewed in 3D as well as some 2D movies like Babylon AD and Clone Wars, etc. Check out what he had to say in the comments...

JOURNEY IS OUT TODAY GUYS - CHECK IT OUT! Awesome experience! I am closing out the Journey 3D POLL in the left column shortly, so hurry up and vote! Results out soon...

Help me out here guys. My super advanced screening did not have any trailers playing in front of it! So my question to you is: If you have seen any advanced screenings - what trailers are playing in front of it? Were they in 3D? Impressions of them?

Also when you see the movie on July 11th - tell me what trailers are playing in your area...

Mini Review: "Journey To The Center Of The Earth 3-D" Is One Heckuva Ride

I saw "Journey To The Center Of The Earth 3-D" tonight (advance screening) and wow is it ever a ride. Without going into great detail, the story is far fetched but yet so is the original book - so suspension of belief is important! I merely went along for the ride and had a lot of fun while doing it. The Icelandic scenes in particular were absolutely stunning in 3D. Gorgeous.

And the special effects at times were photo realistic - especially with the lighting. Scenes that obviously called for CGI behind the characters were so realistically done it was hard to tell where their set started and where it ended. I put my hands together for that effort.

And the T-Rex chase was spectacular. I won't say more about it - you will have to see for yourself but it is totally immersive and personal. Feels like you are really there. Like a vivid dream.

There were a couple of drawbacks - a somber scene at a grave did not feel right at all for instance. But it all did not add up to the trepidation that was building up from the original trailer that was released. It is far better than that. Was it worth the money to go see this pic? You bet. Suspend your belief, take a trip along with a literary master and hold on. This is a "go see it in theatrical 3D" type of movie. Just have fun - thats what this whole pic is about, having fun.

If you want more details let me know - but I won't post a spoiler for this movie. Go check it out!

New "Journey To The Center Of The Earth 3-D" Poster Is Out

Hey guys - check out the new "Journey To The Center Of The Earth 3-D" poster that just hit. Thanks to DON for pointing that out to me! Click to enlarge. Looks awesome.

Journey 3-D opens July 11th.

Hmmm... That T-Rex seems intent on some Dairy Queen Fraser Burger...

Live In San Diego? Want A Free Pass To "Journey To The Center Of The Earth 3-D"?

If you will be in San Diego area on July 11th and enjoy the new 3D experience - act fast! iZ3D is offering 200 free tickets to a 7:30 screening of "Journey To The Center Of The Earth 3-D" and after the showing will be demoing their awesome 22" 3D gaming monitor!

Check it out! Register with the link above.

Marcus Theatres Builds Upon 3D Presence In Midwest

"Journey To The Center Of The Earth" opens July 11th and Marcus Theaters intends to make some room for it. Bruce J. Olson, President of the chain says that they are installing twelve more 3D screens at various Midwest locations to augment their existing two installs. The Brendan Frasier vehicle helped define a time line for Olson to green light the roll out if 3D systems.

Marcus Theaters is the nation's seventh-largest theater chain with 678 screens in 56 locations.

Source: THR

"Journey To The Center Of The Earth 3D": Latest Poster And Trailer Available...

The latest poster and trailer are now available for New Line's "Journey To The Center Of The Earth 3D" - which is surely making out to be the ride of the summer in 3D.

You can blow up the poster by clicking on it...

Check 'em out:

3DX: 3D Film & Entertainment Technology Festival - Singapore, November 19-23

Hey now this looks very inviting! Think I may need to plan a trip to Asia soon...

The 3DX: 3D Film & Entertainment Technology Festival is billed as the world's FIRST FULLY 3D Film Festival! This is awesome. I am not going to lie - I had the same idea for a 3D only film festival; its an idea whose time has come especially in light of the growing 3D component of recent film festivals and industry shows. I am glad that this is finally underway.

There are two confirmed 3D movies to be screened at the show: "Fly Me To The Moon" (Tim Curry) and "Journey To The Center Of The Earth 3D" (Brendan Fraser) - I would definitely look for more announcements for this show as there are a slew of other 3D movies opening up in that timeframe (see the 3D movie list).

Attendees will also be treated to a red carpet reception and celebration, forums featuring guest speakers, directors, 3-D pioneers, visionaries and catalysts, and other special entertainment events for the public.

More when it comes available.

3D Has Reached Economies Of Scale: ShowCanada '08

Hundreds of movie industry insiders are gathering this week in Banff, Alberta (gorgeous isn't it?) to watch the future of film at Canada's movie industry trade show, ShowCanada. And as has been common in most industry shows the past 12 months, there is a much larger 3D presence. One of the treats that attendees this year will be privy to is a screening of the 3D thrill ride known as "Journey to the Centre of the Earth 3-D".

3D has really taken off and technical consultant PA Charron states: "Five years ago, new equipment cost $250,000 to $300,000. Now, a digital projector costs anywhere from $35,000 to $100,000."

"(Digital 3-D) is easy to operate," says Charron. "You're not dealing with film; you're dealing with hard drives."

In other words, the technology has reached an economy of scale, theatres have begun to roll out digital technology and film distributors, ever in search of the next great idea (and mindful of the overwhelming success of competition from video games and the Internet), have created a perfect storm that may push digitized 3-D beyond its gimmicky past.

Source: Calgary Herald