Fox won't pay for 3D.(World)(three dimension)(Brief article)

With the growing popularity of 3D films, Hollywood studios and movie theaters are now squabbling over who should foot the bill for 3D glasses. Thus far, it's been the studios forking over the money to theaters that use the technology. But Fox wants to shift the charge to exhibitors in time for its first 3D release, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, which opens July 1 in the U.S. This suggestion prompted a harsh response from Regal Entertainment, the largest theater owner in the country, which is threatening to show the movie in conventional 2D if Fox doesn't back down.

According to reports, the glasses can cost as much as $1 a piece, amounting to about 20 percent of a theater's total take from a $12 movie ticket. Should Regal go ahead with its proposal to show Ice Age in 2D, it could forgo the opportunity that 3D offers to tack on an additional $3 to ticket prices. But the theater chain also runs the risk of losing business to theaters that do offer the movie in 3D.

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