According to HollywoodinHidef.com, a 3D Blu-ray release of Avatar 3D will come out in November 2010,  for several months it will only be available for the buyers of Panasonic 3D Blu-ray equipment. In turn, Disney is reportedly close to signing a similar deal with Sony Electronics to bundle the 3D Blu-ray of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland with the purchase of Sony 3D hardware.

In February, Avatar director James Cameron had said to the Wall Street Journal that a 3D Blu-ray of the movie would come out in November (see Blu-ray.com, February 18). That was promptly denied by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with a note that said verbatim: “3D is in the conceptual stage and Avatar will not be out on 3D Blu-ray in November” (see Blu-ray.com, February 19).

If those exclusivity deals are confirmed, most of the major studio movies recently released in 3D in theaters will be bundled for exclusive release.

The first 3D feature film to receive a 3D Blu-ray was Monsters vs. Aliens, from Dreamworks Animation, and that was available exclusively as part of Samsung’s Blu-ray starter kit (see news and review). Interestingly, again according to HollywoodinHidef, that exclusivity window expired recently, but Dreamworks Animation has not revealed any plans for a general release of the 3D BD of this movie.

In turn, the stereoscopic Blu-ray editions of Coraline from Universal and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs from Fox are being offered to buyers of the VT25 line of Panasonic Viera 3D Plasma HDTVs (see Blu-ray.com, May 18).

The 3D version of Disney’s A Christmas Carol will be available in November as part of a 4-disc BD/DVD/digital copy combo (see blu-ray.com, May 22).

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is set to release a 3D edition of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs in the summer. That title will also be “primarily bundled” with Sony 3D hardware, but a standalone retail 3D version will also be offered.

Consumer electronics manufacturers – especially Panasonic, Samsung and Sony -, are allegedly offering studios substantial fees for these exclusive deals, to the tune of millions of dollars for each title. This is a profitable deal for studios, as these fees dwarf the potential revenue from a traditional retail release, considering the very small installed base. As Avatar producer Jon Landau graphically depicted it, “we would be the egg coming before the chicken.” And the free 3D titles become a significant marketing asset for hardware makers and retailers, enticing TV buyers to upgrade to a 3D model.

The only people who stand to lose in the deal are buyers of 3D TVs, as they theoretically would need to buy new 3D hardware to be able to access 3D titles other than the ones bundled with their initial purchase.

As of this writing, the only 3D BD titles with a general release date come from Europe: 3D editions of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is up for preorder in Germany and the the UK for June (see blu-ray.com, April 14 and April 15, respectively), and Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk is coming out in Germany on June 30 (see blu-ray.com, May 19).

source blu-ray.com