This Wall Street Journal article by Jeffrey McCracken and Lauren A.E. Schuker on theater owners sudden rush to install digital equipment after the debut of Avatar shows how real fiscal stimulus works. Avatar proved to theater owners that the unique experience of seeing a movie in 3D draws record numbers of customers even against mushrooming entertainment options and piracy.
The move to digital projection has been a hot topic of discussion for a decade. Currently in the U.S. there are about 40,000 movies screens and only about 7,600 of them are digital. Converting screens can cost $70,000 apiece.AMC, Cinemark and Regal will convert most of their theaters from celluloid film reels to digital screens and projectors by the end of 2013. They will likely start in bigger markets such as New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, which have shown a bigger appetite for 3-D films.
The theater owners' joint venture, known as Digital Cinema Implementation Partners, or DCIP, was formed in 2007, but its fund-raising efforts were stymied by the financial crisis that erupted in 2008.
I'm noting this article because it shows how fast the negative effects of the recession go away when there is money to be made from investment and also because it concisely shows how the economic impact of Avatar, much anticipated, is showing real world results.
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