Philip Wuntch

The future is here, and it looks good.

Don't get overly optimistic. We're just talking movie presentation. But we're not looking through rose-colored glasses. A pair of 3-D glasses is the key.

Currently, Monster House is playing in the 3-D process known as Real D in five area theaters. Cinemark's Legacy and Tinseltown in Plano, Rave Northeast Mall and Ridgmar Mall in Fort Worth as well as Rave Hickory Creek near Denton all feature Real D. The IMAX 3-D presentation of The Ant Bully opens today at the Cinemark IMAX theater adjoining Cinemark 17.

IMAX 3-D is generated by film, whereas Real D is a digital presentation. Both allow vibrant, virtually flawless images.

Monster House's all-consuming front yard and foliage take on their own personalities, with each tree branch having either a threatening or pastoral persona. A falling leaf's circuitous route becomes an adventure in 3-D navigation.

Sony Pictures

Monster House is screening in Real D in five area theaters.

The Ant Bully's ant colony comes alive, with colors and design enhanced by the added dimension. When a predatory leapfrog lands in the colony, you'll be exhilarated by the journey while aware of its threat to the terrorized tiny ants. Something as mundane as a shoe on a human foot becomes a genuinely ominous object.

Such emotional responses represent a solid cash flow for the movie industry.

"The public is aware of the shortened windows between theatrical release and home entertainment release," says Joseph Peixoto, president of Real D's worldwide cinema division. "They're looking for something they can't get at home."

Last weekend's Monster House figures prove him right. According to the Box Office Guru Web site, the feature-length 'toon opened on 3,553 screens, with a reasonably solid $6,253 per-screen average. But the 163 theaters showing the film in Real D 3-D generated a sensational per-screen average of $16,012.

Once the beans were counted, Hollywood breathed a sigh of relief. Both Monster House and The Ant Bully were filmed for 3-D presentation. And more are on the way. In 2007, Spider-Man 3 will be released simultaneously on IMAX 3-D screens and regular two-dimensional screens.

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas will be reissued this fall in Real D, while Open Season will be in theaters before year's end. Other 2007 digital 3-D projects include Meet the Robinsons and Robert Zemeckis' version of Beowulf.

"We experience everyday life in three dimensions," says Mr. Peixoto. "And the public is discovering that they can experience things three dimensionally on screen, too. And that's a feeling best experienced on a big screen in a theater."

E-mail pwuntch@dallasnews.com