Digital Cinema Gets a $525 Million Boost

It was only a matter of time before someone stepped in to start the process of converting more movie theaters into digital awesomeness. For the last 10 years we have been saying that digital cinema is the the future of movie going. We've seen the technology grow and mature into what it is today, and it's glorious. The only problem is there are not very many of them, and it looks like that wont be a problem anymore.

JP Morgan has stepped in to invest $525 million dollars in financing which will be used to create up to 15,000 digital cinema theaters over the next five years. The installations will take place at the nations biggest movie theater chains, which include; Regal, AMC, and Cinemark.

With 3D films becoming increasingly popular these day's it is good that this is happening, because more people will have the option now to see these films in 3D if that's what they want to do. This is a great business move, and if JP Morgan wouldn't do it somebody else would have.

The industry has been trying to get a large roll out for digital cinema for a couple years now, but the credit crunch keep it from making any real movement. There were some screens that were converted to digital, theater chains did it themselves, spending $60 million bucks on them, with the promise of getting that money back, and up to 2000 of those are now 3D, but the progress was much slower than what was needed. They did this because the studios plan on releasing so many 3D films that they were furiously competing with one another to get them up on a 3D screen.

Now that the wheels are in motion, and things are happening on the digital cinema front we can expect to have 2500 digital screen by the end of this year. From here on out the plan is to convert 500 screens per month to digital projection. By the end of 2010 we should have around 12,000-13,000 digital screens in operation by the end of 2010.

So what do ya think of that!?

Source: THR