For decades, the film industry has relied on the 35mm film to capture and distribute their movies to cinemas around the world. However it looks like that will soon change as reports have surfaced, claiming that Paramount could be the first major studio to send their major movies to American theaters in digital format, and that future releases by the studio will all be in digital. While the digital format has been around for a while now, many studios have been hesitant to make the switch to the format completely as the film format is still a popular choice amongst film purists, and also the fact that not all theaters have digital equipment, so by disregarding some theaters, studios could stand to lose a fair amount of money.
The semi-good news is that Paramount will continue producing film but they will be sent to other parts of the world, such as Latin America and other markets where most theaters rely on film to screen their movies. It is expected that eventually studios will make the switch to digital as it is clearly a cheaper alternative compared to film, where a disc could cost less than $100 compared to $2,000 for film prints. As it stands, about 8% of US theaters do not have the necessary equipment to show digital films, meaning that these theaters will be forced to upgrade or risk closure.
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