New industry being built on big movie screens, shaking seats.

The fledgling ride film industry is changing rapidly and cranking up production to meet demand, especially in the U.S., according to executives in the business.

Simulated ride film programs combine short-running thrill films on oversized screens and seat-jostling in sync with the action onscreen to give viewers the feel of riding a roller coaster or floating down the rapids in the Grand Canyon. The films are part of the lure at theme parks such as Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood.

Showscan Corp. plans to release six films over the next 20 months, more than doubling its previous total output, according to Peter Hinton, vice president of production at Showscan. Iwerks Entertainment and Boss Film Studios are also torquing up film production. Iwerks, the most prolific film producer is working on about six new films including "Dinosaur Adventure" and two rock concert films.

Burbank-based Iwerks' revenue last year topped $32 million, Culver City-based Showscan' was above $9 million and while privately held and Marina Del Rey based Boss had estimated revenues of $30 million.

They have been selling their films to mini-theme parks, world fairs, shopping centers, gambling casinos and urban entertainment centers the last five years. More than 75 percent of this business has been overseas -- especially Asia and Europe -- but now attention is turning to the U.S. where fewer large-scale parks are being built.

The new smaller venues don't have room for roller coasters but need the simulated thrills that these films can provide, according to ride film executives. The improving U.S. economy also is spurring the business.

Competition is heating up as the companies plan to invest more money into their films. Typically, budgets have been held under $1 million per film, but that is changing. Boss' "Journey to Technopia" was made for $3.8 million last year and was its first major production, according to Richard Edlund, Boss' CEO and founder.

The large movie studios spend considerably more. Universal plowed $16 million into its "Back to the Future" ride film, for instance.

The emphasis on film production marks a shift in the industry. Hardware has been a key part of the industry's growth with companies building the special motion seats that move in sync with action on an oversized screen.

They continue to sell this equipment to the theater owners in one-time transactions. However, the films themselves (the "software") are generating increasing revenues and can be resold to maximize profit.

Ride film libraries' value is increasing with the opening of more venues. There is a market developing for ride films that are up to five years old, executives say. The trend is for more futuristic, technically advanced computer-generated productions.

In another recent change, the special venue film studios are now seeking to own their own theaters. Iwerks and Showscan have opened their own venues called Cinetropolis and CineMania respectively.

These theaters are equipped with motion seats and show the companies own made films. Ticket prices are relatively high, $4 for films that only last five minutes.

Showscan's CineMania opened two months ago at CityWalk in Universal City but has been averaging 1,000 people per day and on Feb. 26 had its best day ever, with 2,650 attending, according to Seth Foster, Showscan's vice president of sales and marketing.

Iwerks recently announced a proposed merger with the Omni theater chain. That $30 million most stock deal would give Iwerks a bigger stake in theaters.

In the last two weeks several companies made announcements reflecting the industry flux and movement toward the film production end of the business.

* Boss said it will average at least two new special ride films a year and has signed an international distribution deal with Korea's Lucky-Goldstar International, a $30 billion conglomerate.

* Showscan sold two simulation theaters to Nevada gambling casinos and is making its most ambitious ride film, "Cosmic Pinball."

* Iwerks named George Wade to head its expanding Cinetropolis division. An Iwerks-owned Cinetropolis theater will open in Chiryu, Japan, next November. The first opened in Connecticut in January.

Boss' success with "Return to Technopia" is illustrative of the drawing power of these ride films.

Lucky-Goldstar commissioned Boss to make a film for its exhibit at Expo '93 in Taejon, Korea, and paid Boss $3.8 million to produce "Technopia." The futuristic film pulls the audience into a mission to save Technopia from evil invaders and features a battle sequence inside Technopia's central computer system. An ugly overlord is shown briefly but the film is dominated by capsules that zoom through a computer's innards.

According to Edlund, Koreans loved the film and 1 million people saw it over the fair's three-month run. Fair-goers waited in line six hours to see the film on busy weekends.