the 3d avatar Movie by James Cameron towers high at $75 million,
which is almost 20 million dollars higher than runner-up '
Sherlock Holmes'. A strong Christmas Day at the U.S. Box
Office didn't give " Sherlock Holmes " the push it needed
to dethrone James Cameron's sci-fi love story " Avatar "
over the weekend (25-27 Dec 09).

it was the top film in the U.S. and Canada with $75 million in sales
as Hollywood posted its highest-grossing weekend ever.
Receipts totaled $278 million.

the director of avatar mr.james cameron is more often
than not the main marketing tool. He has endorsed RealD,
says the company, which has about 5,000 screens using its system.
But he, his wife and his production partner were photographed
at the premiere in Japan wearing XpanD glasses, which work on
2,000 screens worldwide. Dolby says its glasses work with 2,200 screens,
but it has no Cameron connection. The company helpfully
points out instead how a malfunction in the RealD system
spoiled a press preview of "Avatar."

The battle over what glasses patrons wear is a big deal because
exhibitors are convinced that 3-D, while seeming like a gimmick now,
will lure movie lovers away from their crisp high-definition
widescreen TVs at home and back to the theater. But Maria Costeira,
the chief executive of XpanD, believes the sky's
the limit: "Eventually, we'll see 3-D movies on airplanes as well."

The fight over the glasses may well intensify because TV makers are now
pushing 3-D TVs for the home as a way to increase their sales of more expensive sets.

Despite the marketing effort, when it comes down to choosing a 3-D system,
many exhibitors are making a decision based on one factor: Do they want
to be in the cleaning as well as the movie business?

The expensive Dolby and XpanD glasses are going into a dishwasher after each use,
not the trash. Both companies recommend that theater owners clean
them in an industrial-grade machine. (To prevent pilfering, Dolby
and XpanD glasses can also contain built-in antitheft tags that can
be activated by exit-door sensors.)

XpanD offers its theater partners disposable wipes that it can
distribute to customers along with their tickets to assure them
the glasses are germ-free.

RealD, whose cheap throwaway glasses were being perceived as a liability,
has addressed concerns of hygiene. Theater owners are now encouraged to
ship back the used glasses to the company, which will clean, repair and
repackage them for other theaters.

But in all the hubbub about each product's advantages and which system
Mr. Cameron really, truly loves, the most important question remains
unanswered: does one system create a better looking 3-D picture than another?

"I don't think the consumer can tell the difference," said Joe Miraglia,
the director of design, construction, and facilities for ArcLight Cinemas,
a chain of luxury theaters based in Hollywood. The movie chain uses each
system in one or more of its theaters, and finds the cost of operation to
be roughly the same for all.

While Mr. Miraglia uses RealD in several theaters, he chose XpanD's
LCD glasses for the large curved screen in the company's flagship Cinerama
Dome theater on Sunset Boulevard. This is similar to the technology that
will be used by Panasonic, Sony and others as they bring 3-D HDTV to
market next year. Recently, electronics makers set standards for creating
3-D Blu-ray discs and players.

But in order to make the wearing of 3-D glasses as routine as ordering popcorn,
the makers need some help in the design department. Many of the glasses
resemble the "fitover," or wraparound sunglasses favored by senior
citizens in the Sun Belt, a look that is not appealing to young moviegoers.

RealD and XpanD hope that 3-D will soon become a fashion statement.
In addition to its standard movie glasses, RealD is introducing child-size
versions, as well as high-style 3-D specs that people can wear without
embarrassment out in the three-dimensional world as sunglasses or prescription lenses.

Ms. Costeira of XpanD thinks personalized designs that can be used
with 3-D HDTVs and video games could turn into something big. "Stylish,
thin and light, 3-D glasses will become your new iPod," she said.