Palace Cinemas has added 12 new 3D-capable digital screens at its sites in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia.

The Czech Republic got five of the screens - three in Prague, two in Brno - while Slovakia received see two in its capital, Bratislava. Palace Cinemas added five new screens in Budapest, bringing the total number of 3D screens in Hungary to six.

The exhibitor’s first wide 3D premiere is DreamWorks Monsters Vs Aliens. The film topped the March 26 weekend charts in the Czech Republic, drawing 26,841 moviegoers. Of those, 6,907 watched the film on Palace Cinema’s new 3D screens and slightly less than half that figure saw its 2D screens.

In Slovakia, where the exhibitor had a virtual monopoly on the film, 3,268 viewers saw the film on 3D Palace screens, with another 2,172 watching the 2D version. Monsters Vs Aliens opened the following weekend in Budapest, drawing 5,213 admissions for 3D and 4,991 for 2D over a four-day weekend.

Palace Cinemas CFO David Jelinek told ScreenDaily.com that figures for Monsters Vs Aliens were softer than the exhibitor had expected and blamed the sudden arrival of summer-like weather.

V.J Maury, chief executive of Palace Cinemas, said: ‘We are extremely excited to bring to our customers the very best in entertainment and 3D technology. It’s a revolutionary technology that will radically change the business.’

Palace Cinemas first introduced digital projection to its markets in 2002. The company has 20 sites in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, with a combined total of 170 screens.

Topics