Milking 3D for All It's Worth

Hollywood still has faith in 3D, not just brand new movies (either shot in 3D or converted to 3D in post-production) but also digging through their catalog of older hit movies and releasing them again with a 3D makeover. 

After The Lion King earned another whopping $94,000,000, Hollywood studios are examining their libraries to see what other films might live again with some 3D pixie-dust sprinkled upon them.

This year (2012) will see a few that have a pretty good shot of raking in some more dough -- Beauty and the Beast in January, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace in February, Titanic in April, and Finding Nemo in September.

If those work, be assured that more will follow.  Disney is already prepping Monsters Inc. and The Little Mermaid, and George Lucas has already stated that the rest of his Star Wars saga will receive similar treatment. (I guess he failed to heed my anti-3D advice.)

What other existing films might be suitable for the 3D revamp?  Reuters and Hollywood Reporter are just two media outlets speculating.  Some guesses include Top Gun, Ghostbusters, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, Aladdin, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Jaws, Independence Day, Back to the Future, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and even Inception (although director Christopher Nolan has been a very vocal opponent of the 3D trend).

Maybe this 3D trend will be around longer than I had hoped.  The sad thing is that now 3D technology is digging its claws into the beloved classics of yesteryear.  Is nothing sacred?