Never mind the monsters, aliens or meatballs.

For Hollywood, it's the math that's eye-popping.

* A record-setting summer box office bolstered by the higher ticket prices charged at 3D venues.

* Despite tepid reviews, a two-week total of $60 million for the 3D Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

* The $64 million -- a franchise peak -- raked in by the 3D-ized The Final Destination.

* 3D comedies Up, Monsters vs. Aliens, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, G-Force and Bolt all surpassed the $100-million mark. Even the darker, critical darling Coraline took in $75 million.

All of which should come as welcome news to the executives and producers who have been fearlessly stumping for a gimmick famed for shameless effects, cardboard specs and nausea en masse, right?

"It's not the be all and end all," warns Brandon Gray, president and publisher of online tracker boxofficemojo.com.

"But it is an enhancement."

Polling his website's users, Gray found 3D alone doesn't appear to attract audiences.

But the majority of moviegoers will opt for the 3D incarnation of a film they have already decided to see, despite the inflated ticket price. "They want that premium experience."

Not that there aren't risks.

After all, 3D involves a greater investment; in the case of Monsters vs. Aliens, it added about $15 million to the $100-million-plus budget.

But for now, Hollywood clearly views the potential reward as worth it.

Double feature

The latest test comes tomorrow with the 3D double feature re-issue of Toy Story and Toy Story 2 -- although for the Mouse House, the gamble is minimal. Primarily the re-issue exists to prime the pump for next June's Toy Story 3. And if it makes some extra coin in the process, Disney isn't going to mind. Given how well the 3D re-release of A Nightmare Before Christmas performed (about $8 million in 2006), Gray expects the Toy Story films to do "considerably better. These are beloved movies that have stood the test of time."

How well next-gen 3D endures, however, is another question -- even as studios ready more films in the format and contemplate which blockbusters to potentially retrofit.

Likely front-runners appear to be Titanic and Star Wars.

"I'm not sure when 3D came back to the forefront for filmmakers, but if the marketplace is any indication it's definitely what the future holds," says director Kirk Wise, who is overseeing Disney's 3D re-issue of Beauty and the Beast, due in 2010.

"I think you're going to see a lot more 3D movies. The theatrical experience, the big-screen experience, is competing with the home-theatre experience. And I think you need to give people a type of thrill they can only have by going out to a theatre. And I think 3D really enhances that."

We have been here before, cautions Gray. "In the 1950s, 3D was a gimmick to differentiate movies from television. Now again they've rolled out 3D to help them compete with all the other media that's out there."

But as digital 3D -- however impressive -- becomes more commonplace will audiences become blase about it?

After all, a decade ago, computer animation and CG effects almost always translated to boffo box office -- until filmgoers were inundated with it.

In the end, Gray believes, the focus should remain on the movies themselves, not how they're presented. "Producing good stories will pay off in the long run more than 3D will."

Belle back on (and off) the screen

Kirk Wise wonders if there will ever come a time when he's not asking audiences to be his guest.

In 1991, he directed Disney's Beauty and the Beast and he's spent most of the last year refitting the movie for a 3D re-release in February.

"Sometimes I feel like Beauty and the Beast was more than a movie -- it's a career," he says, laughing.

"As the technology continues to evolve, we're just going to keep bringing out Beauty and the Beast in different forms. Eventually we'll project it on the moon and we'll charge everyone on the planet."

This latest version will include footage not released originally -- notably the song Human Again -- although it was part of the special edition IMAX bow in 2002.

What else should fans expect from the 3D Beauty and the Beast?

"Through a lot of computer wizardry, we are able to create an additional feeling of depth -- of space and air around the characters. That's really remarkable to me. For me it's all about the feeling that you could step inside that painting and walk around Belle."

Which isn't to say he doesn't recognize the necessity of restraint.

"You don't want to overuse the 3D gimmickry, but find those moments where you just want to knock the audience over. And I think we have.

"We're working on a 3D version of Be Our Guest and you're not going to believe it. Just the spoons diving into the soup will be enough to make you dive for cover."