ShowEast 2012: Exhibitors Support HFR Movies Despite Slow Adoption
By Rob Scott
November 9, 2012
November 9, 2012
- Exhibitors Regal and AMC were at ShowEast in Florida to support the Warner Bros. high frame rate (HFR) release of Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.”
- “Meanwhile, the studio moves cautiously with its plans to introduce the theater technology, which has encountered a number of problems as it goes through a testing phase,” writes Carolyn Giardina for The Hollywood Reporter.
- Some industry sources had anticipated tens of thousands of screens would be ready to show the film at 48 fps. “Instead, Warners has decided to offer ‘Hobbit’ in what is being called HFR 3D as a platform release, using 400 screens domestically, that will include 90 screens from Regal and 92 from AMC along with another 500 in international markets,” notes Giardina.
- When Jackson’s film launches December 14 in the U.S., most theaters will screen the film at the traditional frame rate of 24 fps.
- The slow adoption has hurt manufacturers who had banked on selling equipment, although they remain optimistic of HFR’s future. A number of studios plan to produce HFR movies for release in 2013 and 2014.
- “We want to make sure we do it properly and make sure the public sees it in its best form,” explains Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution for Warner Bros. “We are very committed to this. [High frame rates are] the most important change in exhibition, probably since the introduction of sound.”
- Theaters have faced a number of obstacles. “Some configurations could play HFRs but then couldn’t easily switch back to 24 fps for projecting other items like trailers,” writes Giardina. “There have also been some issues with how individual technologies worked in combination with other newly developed products. Additionally, theater personnel require training on the new technologies.”
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