Sony Pictures Home Entertainment confirmed that it will be bringing the first Blu-ray 3D SKU to market “early this summer” with Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 3D. The first day-and-date Blu-ray 3D release from the studio will be Resident Evil: Afterlife (which opens theatrically in the US in September).
In an interview with Home Media Magazine, Lexine Wong, SPHE senior EVP of worldwide marketing, explained that the company “felt it was absolutely necessary to offer a standalone retail 3D version of Cloudy for our retailers and consumers who want more 3D content for their 3D TVs.” As previously reported (see blu-ray.com, May 23), most of the 3D releases expected for 2010 will be available exclusively for the buyers of 3D hardware of one brand or the other.
Wong added that SPHE’s Blu-ray 3D titles will also include a 2D high-def version of the film.
When asked about whether Blu-ray 3D titles would carry a price premium, Wong stated that with Blu-ray 3D there are authoring and production costs “above and beyond those associated with 2D Blu-ray.” Additionally, she noted that theatergoers are now used to paying more for seeing a movie in 3D than in 2D. Hence, she said, “we do feel that expectation will carry over to Blu-ray 3D.”
“Just as Blu-ray offers the best high-def picture and sound,” she concluded, “the best quality 3D is only on Blu-ray 3D.”
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