...or for The Lion King. Will you dig deep for that new home cinema equipment?

A press release from Disney reveals that the long-awaited 3D conversion of the 1992 semi-CGI favourite Beauty And The Beast will be released straight onto Blu-ray, with no interstitial theatrical exhibition, and that the same treatment is being given to the 3D conversion of 1994's The Lion King.

That the much-vaunted conversions are to be unavailable to the widest and most lucrative audience could indicate a number of possibilities: that budgetary issues have forced The Mouse to reconsider recouping its investment in theatres; that the 3D market is a lot more crowded than when the conversions were first announced two years ago, and that no suitable exhibition slots are available without delaying the release; or that some secret handshakes are being made between the likes of Disney and the manufacturers of still-costly 3D Blu-ray home eqiuipment to kick-start the take-up of this technology over the next year or so. If the latter should prove to be the case, not even these very popular 1990s Disney classics are likely to prove tempting enough to re-gouge an audience that is just getting used to the increased cost of 3D movie attendance, many of whom have only recently invested in standard wide-screen plasmas.

/Film

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