Surprise (not really)! Warner Bros to release Clash of the Titans in 3D.

As expected by everyone and their sister, Warner Bros. will push the release date of Clash of the Titans back to April 2nd, so as not to directly compete with Dreamworks' How to Train Your Dragon on March 26th.  As equally expected, Warner has decided to convert the 2D picture to 3D, which is the primary reason for the date change.  Also being more or less confirmed is the equally obvious choice that Warner Bros is going to convert Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows parts I and II into 3D as well.  The last two films each had about fifteen minutes worth of 3D footage (way before it was cool), so this seems like a pretty obvious next step.  Come what may, it looks like Avatar really did turn out to be a game changer after all.

I'd imagine that Avatar's success will make 3D conversion the 'new normal' for tent-pole films from here on out.  Don't be surprised if Iron Man 2 makes a last-minute 3D switch to compliment its IMAX release, as well as pretty much every action/adventure tent-pole you can think of for the next few years (The Avengers, Star Trek 2, Amazing Spider-Man, Pirates of the Caribbean: At Stranger Tides, etc).  The real question is when we'll start seeing non-action and non-animated pictures utilizing this technology.  Since Warner seems to be leading the way on this (they broke the 3D barrier with The Polar Express back in November 2004), it'll be interesting to see if they decide to convert Sex and the City 2 into 3D as a test case for non-spectacle films.  Of course, once everything is available in 3D, it won't be so special anymore.  And once Blu Ray and TV became able to replicate the 3D experience at home, will studios still bother to spend the extra money on something that won't be unique to the theatrical experience anymore?  We'll see...       

Scott Mendelson