U.S. theatre chains will spend more than $1 billion to equip more than 15,000 screens nationwide with digital-projection systems during the next three years.

Universal, Paramount, Disney and Fox, with financing backing from JPMorgan Securities, will fund systems to be rolled out by Digital Cinema Implementation Partners. Regal Cinemas, AMC Entertainment and Cinemark formed DCIP more than a year ago, but it has taken until recently to get a majority of the major studios to to fund the digital rollout. Studios will pay $100,000 per system in hardware and installation costs to install digital-cinema equipment in theatres operated by the biggest theatre chains.

This will allow digital projection in the converted auditoriums and 3-D exhibition, as well, if the theater owners stump up for it. Digital projection could mean TV-like advertising on movie screens instead of the old-fashioned advertising slide shows.