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A scene from the animated movie 'Meet the Robinsons' in an image courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures. The film raked in $7.1 million over the weekend in theaters screening a new three- dimensional version industry watchers are tracking closely. Reuters/Handout

BURBANK, California (Reuters) - The Walt Disney Co.'s animated movie "Meet the Robinsons" raked in $7.1 million over the weekend in theaters screening a new three- dimensional version industry watchers are tracking closely.

Disney said the 3-D "Robinsons" played in 581 theaters equipped with digital projectors and it out-grossed the traditional, two-dimensional version by 2.6 times per theater.

The $7.1 million gives the 3-D film a $12,220 per theater average, which is a strong showing given the weekend's No. 1 film, "Blades of Glory," averaged $9,790 per location in more than 3,300 theaters.

Including both 3-D and 2-D versions, "Meet the Robinsons," which tells of the futuristic adventures of a young boy, took in $25 million in about 3,400 theaters and had a per screen average of around $7,300 to place No. 2 at box offices.

Hollywood and theater owners are closely following ticket sales of 3-D movies because many of them believe cutting-edge digital projectors now being installed in theaters could boost box office by offering alternatives to traditional 2-D movies.

Disney is a major proponent of 3-D films having released computer animated "Chicken Little" in a 3-D version in 2005 that raked in $26,000 per theater in around 80 venues. The 2-D version averaged nearly $11,000 a theater in 3,600 locations.

Last summer, Sony Corp (NYSE:SNE - news).'s Columbia Pictures released a 3-D version of computer animated "Monster House" in 162 digitally-equipped theaters and averaged around $15,000 per venue, which was more than 2.5 times the 2-D version.

Other types of alternative content include music concerts and sports games held live in one location and broadcast via satellite to movie theaters around the world.