With the resounding success of Disney's new "Alice in Wonderland," which took over 6 million at the U.S. box office this weekend for the biggest 3D movie opening yet, it's no wonder why theaters are scrambling to get themselves equipped with more 3D-ready digital projectors and screens. Currently, most theaters are able to screen only one, if that. With well over twenty movies hitting theaters in the eye-popping format through the end of the year, the influx of 3D movies set to hit theaters this year feel so close, you can reach out and touch them.

While "Avatar" was the sole 3D release in theaters since it debuted on December 18th last year, "Alice in Wonderland" has the distinction of being 2010's banner 3D release for only three weeks. Dreamworks rolls out "How To Train Your Dragon" in the format on March 26th.

While Fox unsuccessfully urged moviegoers to keep "Avatar" on their 3D screens through April (but it only lost about 293 this weekend to "Alice"), Disney instead angered some theater chains by announcing a shorter window of time between the film's theater release and its DVD/Blu-ray debut. According to the National Association of Theatre Owners, at the beginning of the year, less than 4,000 screens were 3-D enabled ("Alice in Wonderland" opened this weekend on 3,728.) With more movies fighting for their spot on theater screens, more limited 3D engagements could become the norm.

The upcoming "Clash of the Titans" remake, with "Avatar" star Sam Worthington, saw itself pushed back from its original March 26th release date, where it would have opened against "How To Train Your Dragon," to April 2nd, to give Warner Bros. just a little more time to convert scenes to 3D. That means come April 2nd, three major 3D studio releases will be fighting for the 4,000 or so enabled screens already installed.

On May 21st, the 3D Summer movie-going season kicks off with the latest Shrek sequel, "Shrek Forever After" hitting theaters. Family-oriented animated fare continues to dominate the format through the summer when "Toy Story 3" opens on June 21st and "Despicable Me" bows on July 9th, similar to last year when animated films dominated multiplexes and box-office grosses with 3D releases of films like "Monsters vs. Aliens," "Coraline," "Up," and "Ice Age 3D."

In August, the releases become a bit more adult-oriented with the horror sequel "Friday the 13th Part 2 3D" opening on the 13th and "Pirahna 3D" on the 27th. Street dancing sequel "Step Up 3D" opens on August 6th.

Scheduled for the rest of the year is more animation like Disney's Rapunzel fable "Tangled," Dreamworks' "MegaMind," and Warner Bros' "Yogi Bear." That's not to mention movies that can find themselves converted in to 3D before their release dates to capitalize on the current phenomenon.

To meet the demand, theaters may find themselves charging more than the current average .50 or so premium per ticket for 3D movies across US theaters. But with "Alice in Wonderland" scoring the biggest opening this time of year, easily beating out the previously record-holding, non-3D "Passion of the Christ" (Don't even think about it, Mel Gibson), theater chains are working to get in as many screens as they can before they find themselves too late for some very important dates. icelebz