Movie Theaters Begin To Make The Move To Digital Projectors

October 1, 2008 4:42 p.m. EST

Chicago, IL (AHN)-Movie theaters across the country are upgrading from older film-based projectors to new digital projectors, with financial help from some of the major Hollywood studios.

The digital projectors, which cost around $70,000 each, will be installed in Regal, AMC, and Cinemark theaters nationwide, replacing the film-based projectors used for so many years.

The major movie studios, all looking to upgrade to digital film, will help movie theaters offset the cost or replacing their old projectors by paying a "digital print fee" of about $800 to $1,000 per film, potentially saving theaters millions or even billions of dollars on the replacements.

American moviegoers seem to be excited about the upgrade to digital projectors, as long as the price to see a movie doesn't increase as a result of the advancement of film technology.