Walt Disney, Paramount, Twentieth Century Fox and Universal are soon expected to announce a long-sought $1.1 billion digital cinema deal that Hollywood hopes will boost attendance, cut costs and enable more 3-D viewing, sources close to the deal said on Thursday.
The studios declined to comment, but sources with knowledge of the talks said the deal to help co-finance the upgrade for a group of movie chains was virtually complete, with an announcement expected within days or weeks.
Long delayed by debate over who should pay for the system, digital cinema offers a potential solution to declining movie attendance at a lower ongoing cost.
Fox, a unit of News Corp was the first to sign the deal this summer, but its participation was contingent on other studios agreeing. Early this month, sources said General Electric Co's Universal and Walt Disney Co had come on board and that Viacom Inc's Paramount was close to signing on.
The studios have been engaged in years-long talks with the Digital Cinema Implementation Partners (DCIP)—formed by Regal Entertainment Group, Cinemark Holdings Inc and AMC Entertainment Inc, who operate 14,000 screens—to reach a deal to help finance the theater upgrades.
The studios declined to comment, but sources with knowledge of the talks said the deal to help co-finance the upgrade for a group of movie chains was virtually complete, with an announcement expected within days or weeks.
Long delayed by debate over who should pay for the system, digital cinema offers a potential solution to declining movie attendance at a lower ongoing cost.
Fox, a unit of News Corp was the first to sign the deal this summer, but its participation was contingent on other studios agreeing. Early this month, sources said General Electric Co's Universal and Walt Disney Co had come on board and that Viacom Inc's Paramount was close to signing on.
The studios have been engaged in years-long talks with the Digital Cinema Implementation Partners (DCIP)—formed by Regal Entertainment Group, Cinemark Holdings Inc and AMC Entertainment Inc, who operate 14,000 screens—to reach a deal to help finance the theater upgrades.
