Marcus Theatres Corporation announced today that they will be installing 3D digital projection systems at 12 of their locations in the Midwest in time for the July 11th opening of Brendan Fraser's Journey to the Center of the Earth - 3D.

These 12 systems will join two systems already installed in Marcus Theatres at the Ridge Cinema in New Berlin, Wisconsin and an undisclosed theater in Madison, Wisconsin (which I imagine would be the Point Cinema).

The new 3-D installations will include:

Wisconsin

• Bay Park Cinema, Green Bay
• Marcus Cinema at the Renaissance, Sturtevant (Racine)
• Marcus Majestic Cinema, Brookfield
• Menomonee Falls Cinema, Menomonee Falls

Ohio

• Pickerington Cinema, Pickerington

Illinois

• Gurnee Cinema, Gurnee
• Orland Park Cinema, Orland Park

Minnesota

• Marcus Ultra Cinema at Oakdale, Oakdale
• Parkwood Cinema, Waite Park (St. Cloud)

Nebraska

• Lincoln Grand Cinema, Lincoln
• Village Pointe Cinema, Omaha

North Dakota

• Century Cinema, Fargo

Digital 3D projection systems have become very newsworthy in the past few months, as movie studios have begun producing features in 3D, like the highly successful Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour: Digital 3D event and last year's Beowulf: Digital 3D, and more 3D features are planned for the next couple of years. Dreamworks Animation has gone on record as saying that every movie they produce from now on will be done in 3D, and Disney is in the process of re-rendering the two Toy Story movies in 3D to be released ahead of Toy Story 3 in 3D in 2010.

Upcoming movies that will be released using digital 3D technology include Dreamworks' Monsters vs. Aliens and Shrek Goes Fourth, Disney's Bolt and Cars 2, James Cameron's Avatar (Cameron has been a big fan of 3D), and others. See related Journal articles about Disney's upcoming releases and Dreamworks' 3D ambitions.

Update 2008-06-18: According to this press release, the projectors being used for these installations will be NEC STARUS™ NC2500S Digital Cinema projector systems from Ballantyne’s Strong Digital Systems (SDS) division.

The full press release from Marcus appears below.

Press Release

Marcus Theatres® to Install Digital 3D Technology at 12 New Locations Throughout the Midwest

Circuit continues to enhance the moviegoing experience

MILWAUKEE, Jun 13, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Marcus Theatres(R), a division of The Marcus Corporation (NYSE: MCS), today announced that moviegoers will soon be able to experience digital 3D movies at 14 Marcus Theatres locations throughout the Midwest. The company already operates two digital 3D systems in New Berlin and Madison, Wis. and plans to install 12 new digital 3D systems in time for the July 11th opening of New Line Cinema's 3D feature film Journey to the Center of the Earth.

"Digital 3D is a new way that audiences can engage their senses to experience movies as they have never been able to before. The power of this new entertainment can be seen in the incredible success of Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert and films such as Nightmare Before Christmas and Beowulf in 3D," said Bruce J. Olson, president of Marcus Theatres. "As a result of this success and the unique experience it offers guests, studios have geared up to bring moviegoers an increasing number of 3D features. Upcoming titles include Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Toy Story 3, and Avatar, James Cameron's first feature since Titanic. DreamWorks Animation also recently announced that all their new films, including Shrek Goes Fourth, will be released in 3D."

"Digital 3D technology is light years ahead of traditional 35mm film 3D processes. Digital 3D uses a digital cinema projector to very rapidly switch images and color schemes between the right and left eyes to create an incredibly realistic 3D image. That just is not possible with film. This technology is truly amazing," said Mark Collins, director of projection technologies for Marcus Theatres.

"At all 14 of our digital 3D locations, audiences will be able to enjoy the vibrant quality and lifelike clarity of 3D images using the newest technology available. Marcus Theatres is always looking for opportunities to create the best entertainment experience for our guests, and we are excited to bring this incredible 3D technology to moviegoers throughout the Midwest," added Olson.

Ballantyne of Omaha, Inc. and XpanD of Pasadena, Calif. will provide equipment and glasses and Dolby(R) will provide the digital cinema servers for the new 3D systems.

The new Digital 3D technology systems will be implemented at the following Marcus Theatres locations:

Wisconsin

• Bay Park Cinema, Green Bay
• Marcus Cinema at the Renaissance, Sturtevant (Racine)
• Marcus Majestic Cinema, Brookfield
• Menomonee Falls Cinema, Menomonee Falls

Ohio

• Pickerington Cinema, Pickerington

Illinois

• Gurnee Cinema, Gurnee
• Orland Park Cinema, Orland Park

Minnesota

• Marcus Ultra Cinema at Oakdale, Oakdale
• Parkwood Cinema, Waite Park (St. Cloud)

Nebraska

• Lincoln Grand Cinema, Lincoln
• Village Pointe Cinema, Omaha

North Dakota

• Century Cinema, Fargo

About Marcus Theatres

Marcus Theatres(R), a division of The Marcus Corporation (NYSE:MCS), is the seventh largest theatre circuit in the United States and currently owns or operates 678 screens at 56 locations in Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio, North Dakota, Iowa and Nebraska, and one family entertainment center in Wisconsin.

About The Marcus Corporation

Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, The Marcus Corporation is a leader in the lodging and entertainment industries. In addition to its Marcus Theatres division, the company's lodging division, Marcus Hotels and Resorts, owns or manages 20 hotels, resorts and other properties in ten states, with three additional properties under development. For more information, visit the company's web site at www.marcuscorp.com.

Certain matters discussed in this press release are "forward-looking statements" intended to qualify for the safe harbors from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements may generally be identified as such because the context of such statements will include words such as we "believe," "anticipate," "expect" or words of similar import. Similarly, statements that describe our future plans, objectives or goals are also forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause results to differ materially from those expected, including, but not limited to, the following: (1) the availability, in terms of both quantity and audience appeal, of motion pictures for our theatre division, as well as other industry dynamics such as the maintenance of a suitable window between the date such motion pictures are released in theatres and the date they are released to other distribution channels; (2) the effects of increasing depreciation expenses and preopening and start-up costs due to the capital intensive nature of our businesses; (3) the effects of adverse economic conditions in our markets, particularly with respect to our hotels and resorts division; (4) the effects of adverse weather conditions, particularly during the winter in the Midwest and in our other markets; (5) the effects on our occupancy and room rates from the relative industry supply of available rooms at comparable lodging facilities in our markets; (6) the effects of competitive conditions in our markets; (7) our ability to identify properties to acquire, develop and/or manage and continuing availability of funds for such development; (8) the adverse impact on business and consumer spending on travel, leisure and entertainment resulting from terrorist attacks in the United States, the United States' responses thereto and subsequent hostilities; and (9) the successful integration of the Douglas Theatre Company theatres into our theatre circuit. Shareholders, potential investors and other readers are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements made herein are made only as of the date of this press release and we undertake no obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

Source: The Marcus Corporation