Digital cinema is taking a big step in Europe. Yesterday we talked about how Sony Pictures’ new ‘Hot Ticket’ service will distribute digital content in the US, where about 5,000 screens are able to display the content. But in Europe, digital cinema equipment provider XDC has signed with four studios to deploy another 8,000 digital screens.

Earlier, the only choice for European theaters was to sign up with competitor Arts Alliance Media. But most theaters didn’t like the cost-sharing deal. This will give them a new choice. “The market needs some competition for exhibitors to see it as real. XDC has been around for a long time and now it has the credibility of studio product,” digital cinema analyst David Hancock said. But he noted how this step could also benefit Arts Alliance Media. “This is good news. [Arts Alliance] needed a competitor to make their offer more credible.“

XDC made the deal with Warner Bros, Twentieth Century Fox, Disney and Paramount, which will give them a lot more credibility. Yes, the digital revolution is everywhere. In ten years there will be no analog theaters left.

20th Century Fox finally signed off on ‘I Want To Believe’, the new title of the X-files movie. Slated for release July 25, the movie comes six years after the series finale. One of the reasons why the story is both written for the fans, but also for newcomers.

“It has struck me over the last several years talking to college-age kids that a lot of them really don’t know the show or haven’t seen it. If you’re 20 years old now, the show started when you were 4. It was probably too scary for you or your parents wouldn’t let you watch it. So there’s a whole new audience that might have liked the show. This was made to, I would call it, satisfy everyone,” Chris Carter, the show’s creator, told The Associated Press.