TO most cinemagoers, 3-D will forever be associated with the red and green-lensed cardboard glasses that were frequently more talked about than the movies that required such accessories.

But those who can remember the less-than-groovy glasses may soon need to think again. After several false dawns, with many industry bigwigs incorrectly predicting a revival of the 3-D format, it may finally be coming to a screen near you.

And this time all the big film studios are fully on board. In Hollywood, where money talks louder than just about anything else, the once-derided concept may be spelling a box-office bonanza.

The release of a handful of animated movies over the past year or so in both digital 3-D and traditional 2-D formats, has demonstrated the power of the former, which generates two to three times the box-office take of the latter.

For example, the Disney film Meet the Robinsons, screened in both formats, is estimated to have taken about $12,000 (£5,900) per screen on its opening weekend in its 3-D version against $4,000 per screen in the 2-D format, according to Thomas Weisel, a Wall Street research firm.

Given that it costs about an extra 10% to produce a 3-D version of an animated movie, the investment is one Hollywood is increasingly prepared to make.

According to Screen Digest, a consultancy, there are just over 600 screens capable of handling 3-D films in America, but this is expected to grow rapidly. There are forecast to be more than 4,000 by 2009 and, ultimately, there could be about 20,000 worldwide.

Britain is a long way behind with just seven screens, according to Screen Digest, although the rate of expansion is likely to grow as more 3-D films are made. This year should see the release of Beowulf, followed by a 3-D concert film of U2 and Journey 3-D, a three-dimensional version of Journey to the Centre of the Earth.

In 2009, the new wave gets properly under way with more titles, including Avatar, a big-budget sci-fi film directed by James Cameron for 20th Century Fox. Dreamworks Animation, the studio behind the Shrek franchise, recently said all its movies would be released in 3-D from 2009.

The days when occasional talk of a 3-D revival could be summarily dismissed appear to be over, and industry executives now talk of the format in reverential tones.

Jeffrey Katzenberg, chief executive of Dreamworks Animation, said there were two reasons why it would take root this time. “Firstly, there is a whole series of new film-making tools that allow film-makers to create a very high-quality 3-D image that really overcomes many of the limitations that have existed in the past,” he said.

The other factor is the change in technology that has seen cinemas convert to digital projectors that can be upgraded quite easily, he said. The “old-school” 3-D required two projectors, rather than the one needed today.

Among studio chiefs, Katzenberg has been the most vocal advocate of the new technology, insisting it is “not an evolutionary step, it’s a revolutionary step”, but he is far from alone in embracing it.

Walt Disney has released three films in 3-D format over the past couple of years. Earlier this year, it formed a partnership with Robert Zemeckis, director of the Back to the Future trilogy, to produce 3-D films, the first for Christmas 2009.

Anthony Marcoly, president of distribution and sales for Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Distribution International, said: “We are seeing customers embrace this, they have seen it work, the technology is catching on. This looks like being the future.”

To upgrade to the new 3-D system, cinemas have to have digital projectors, rather than the traditional analogue equipment that has been the industry standard for decades. That conversion process is well under way. Bolting on the necessary upgrades to become a digital 3-D screen is relatively straightforward.

While there are competing technologies – Dolby, the audio specialist, is working on a 3-D projection system – the market leader is a privately-owned American company called Real D, which has married digital projection systems with the sort of 3-D visualisation technology used by the likes of the Nasa space agency. It has secured a near-monopoly position. Michael Lewis, chief executive of Real D, said upgrading a digital projector to be capable of showing 3-D films was “a 15-minute job”. Cinemagoers still have to wear special glasses to get the 3-D effect.

To date, the rebirth of 3-D has been very much an American phenomenon, but British cinema chains are keeping a close eye on the situation.

Steve Knibbs, chief operating officer of Vue, a multiplex chain, said the company had two 3-D screens at present, but was looking at adding more.

“If there is product, the cost of the technology is not going to be an issue,” he said.

Steve Wiener, chief executive of Cineworld, the only quoted cinema group in Britain, is also monitoring the industry before committing capital to the 3-D format, although he is “sold on the concept” and is actively exploring how best to introduce the technology into the business.

Wiener remains hugely excited about the possibilities that are thrown up by 3-D. For example, the original Star Wars trilogy could be rereleased in 3-D.

“If that happens,” said Wiener, “you’re looking at a library of action films that could be rereleased and become as big as brand-new movies.”

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