In 1953, 3-D movies exploded onto the movie screen in an effort to rescue Hollywood from the encroaching scourge that was television. By 1955, they were essentially dead in the water.

"A few great movies came out of that, but most of what we remember was pretty terrible," says Rob Engle, senior stereographer and digital effects supervisor for Sony Pictures Imageworks, the studio's visual-effects arm.

But 3-D is on the march anew. And with more screens capable of showing 3-D movies, plus technological advances that will erase the headaches caused by wearing cheesy cardboard glasses, the trend could show more staying power.

In November, "Beowulf" was released in traditional format, 3-D and hyperpowered IMAX 3-D. Only a fifth of the screens showing the film offered it in 3-D, but the eye-popping versions accounted for more than 40 percent of the film's box-office take.

Last week, 3-D "Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert" joined "U2 3D" on the movie marquee, and more high-profile 3-D films are due in the next two years.

The challenges of shooting in 3-D are massive.

"Normally with a 2-D camera, you look through the lens, you shoot from an angle, you see what you've got, and you're done," says Art Repola, producer of "Best of Both Worlds Concert" and vice president of visual effects for Disney. "Looking at all the 3-D settings to make sure you get the desired effect requires a lot more time and a lot more people."

In the recent past, 3-D movies had a tough time finding screens capable of adapting to the format. Only 200 screens could show 3-D movies in 2006; now there are 1,000 with projections for as many as 5,000 by next year.

"Studios are definitely hoping that the 3-D element will help give moviegoers a reason to leave their flat-screen TVs and go to a movie theater for an event film," says Gitesh Pandya, creator of BoxOfficeGuru.com.

But whether the box-office effect will last is debatable.

"Once a flood of 3-D films come out, it won't be special anymore," Pandya says. "The effects will diminish."

Repola isn't so sure.

"Great filmmakers like [Robert] Zemeckis and [James] Cameron are embracing this technology," he says. "If you put solid storytelling with the right filmmakers and add this extra component, you see all the reasons you're seeing more and more of this."

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