3D Box Office Hits Lowest Levels in Eight Years

Megalith

Megalith

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The novelty of 3D is wearing thin for audiences: revenues for 3D films in the US and Canada fell 18% in 2017 to $1.3 billion, nearly a billion less than 2010’s figures. While the availability of digital 3D screens has increased (if just a smidge), more and more studios are opting for 2D releases only.

Since “Avatar,” 3D has seen its fortunes fall dramatically. There were gripes about hasty and shoddy 3D conversions of films such as “Clash of the Titans” and gripes about the higher price of tickets. Some filmmakers, such as Alfonso Cuaron (“Gravity”) and Martin Scorsese (“Hugo”), have experimented with the technology to critical acclaim, but it’s been awhile since an A-list filmmaker has publicly embraced the possibilities of 3D.
 
For me the post production 3D is shit...and for eyes very bad almost like screen tearing..feels like very low refresh rate. When 3D is done up front and with the right camera, it can be done well. Take it or leave, I do not like paying extra for it, unless its on imax.
 
For many people, especially those of us in CA, movies are expensive enough as it is. It's easily $19+ per ticket for a 2D showing, let alone 3D. For me and the wife to go see a movie, it's easily a $50 outing. Unless it's a movie I've been really anticipating, I'll wait to see it at home.

The overwhelming majority of 3D releases are not shot with 3D cameras but are instead converted in post production. Certain movies, like 3D animation etc. lend themselves well to the format, but you run into the problem of ticket costs. For families of 3+, which animated movies are often marketed to, a simple theater outing could clock in at $100.
 
Last movie I wasted my money on was Last Jedi, which only showed on 3D at the time I needed (before work). The picture was murky, dark as hell, everything was obscured. Anything with motion was miserable. Terrible experience made only worse by a bad movie.
 
I've never understood the appeal of 3D movies. Even on Imax 3D, it still looks fuzzier and colors don't pop as well as a good 2D image. I've probably seen 2 3D movies in the past 8 years and that's just because all tickets to the 2D showing were sold out on a given day.
 
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I saw Jurassic Park in 3D, I think that was the only one, ever.

Otherwise, the onlything I notice about 3D movies is how it ruins my 2D movies by having scenes purposely put in place that you know are there for the 3D version. The shit needs to go away.
 
I never watch any 3D as I can't any way so just let it die
 
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I only ever watched one 3D movie. Couldn't deal with the darker image and eye strain.
 
Avatar was pretty great in 3D... besides that, I prefer 2D movies. Just give me the best picture and audio experience possible with comfortable seating!
 
Good riddance..Let us be perfectly honest here. 99% of movies do not benefit from the addition of 3d in any way whatsoever..no matter if it was implemented good or not. Avatar is quite possibly the only movie that an argument could be made that 3d enhanced it and even then you don't miss anything important by watching it in 2d. It really is nothing more than a gimmick to suck more money out of customers for a service that is already grossly overpriced.
 
The only reason 3D still exists is because theaters charge a premium for it and seem to have fewer and fewer non-3D showings.

Outside of cost, my beef with 3D is that it looks dark and washed out on everything but IMAX.
 
only movie i have seen use 3D well was the new Tron and that was do to them using it in the way Wizard of Oz used color
 
NeoNemesis said:
The only reason 3D still exists is because theaters charge a premium for it and seem to have fewer and fewer non-3D showings.

Outside of cost, my beef with 3D is that it looks dark and washed out on everything but IMAX.
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thats do to the lamp power of IMAX over everything else
 
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Darkness is an issue, but an even bigger issue is that the colors are not adjusted so that the 3D colors are the same as the 2D colors. I notice that Reds practically disappear with Real 3D glasses.
And yes, cost is a big factor too. I'm less concerned about true 3d vs post, because Post 3D has gotten much better over the years, but when 3D first came out, it was a buck or 2 more than 2D. Now it's roughly 5 bucks and it's not worth 5 bucks. The only time I go for 3D now is if that's the only way to see the movie on the screen I want to watch the movie on.
 
I like imax 3d. I usually watch a "good" movie I *like in 2d and imax 3d.

*like, something that I want to watch more than twice.

"Good" not a piece of crap script with shit 3d effects.
 
Hate 3d movies. They are too dark, movement is blurred and hard to see.
Just not worth ruining most the movie for the occasional still scene that looks good.

Last 3d movie I went to was a premier that I got free tickets for.
Never again. If I get free tickets to another 3d movie, even one I really want to see, I'd rather throw them away.
 
Yeah, as others said, 3D in regular theatres is just not worth sacrificing brightness/contrast, clarity, color accuracy, and (sometimes) the framerate.


I like the effect, but the tech is simply not there yet.
 
The theater only has one showtime for 2D, rest in 3D, its really annoying. All because of avatar made so much money that everything had to go 3D after.
 
Galvin said:
The theater only has one showtime for 2D, rest in 3D, its really annoying. All because of avatar made so much money that everything had to go 3D after.
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You know, Avatar has a pretty dead fandom for such a big movie.

It was OK... But nothing special. Not something anyone I know would look back on with nostalgia.
 
don't worry James Cameron's 4 Avatar sequels will bring 3D back again from the brink of death...Cameron is a huge proponent of 3D and is looking at a glasses-free version of 3D for the new Avatar movies
 
I don't like something so fuck everyone who does. They shouldn't get a choice.

Personally, the theater around has both 2D and 3D showings when it is an option and i see every movie in 3D when possible. Never got a headache once out of 20+ movies. Colors and quality always look fine.

To me I just find it gives some depth to the movie and even if everything doesn't jump out at you it still makes it seem more immersive.
 
Good. Now get rid of it. I haven't been to the movies in a while cause unless I pay for the 3D tickets I get stuffed in the last run theather on opening weekends. I don't want 3D. I wear glasses and makes the 3D ones uncomfortable. I get headaches after an hour. I am fine paying $15 if I get to sit in the IMAX theather with Atmos sound. I am not ok paying $13 to get stuck in the last run theather.
 
Exavior said:
Personally, the theater around has both 2D and 3D showings when it is an option and i see every movie in 3D when possible. Never got a headache once out of 20+ movies. Colors and quality always look fine.

To me I just find it gives some depth to the movie and even if everything doesn't jump out at you it still makes it seem more immersive.
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So you are one of the people that the 3d works on. Good for you.

I'm the opposite. Either my eyes or my brain isn't fooled by the 3d fakery, so the screen looks dark and blurry most the time.
The blurriness is so bad during high action scenes, I usually can't even see what is going on.

Hard to enjoy the movie when you can't tell what those 3 blurry objects moving around the screen are supposed to be.
 
Master_shake_ said:
is 3d still a thing?

haven't seen it advertised in ages.
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Yeah, the consumer electronics industry is letting it die once again. Only to be resurrected once again in about 14 years.
People will not remember once again though and they will buy everything with a 3D sticker. Only to discover once again that it is only a gimmick.

That's the circle of 3D in consumer electronics.
 
mufcfan said:
Yeah, the consumer electronics industry is letting it die once again. Only to be resurrected once again in about 14 years.
People will not remember once again though and they will buy everything with a 3D sticker. Only to discover once again that it is only a gimmick.

That's the circle of 3D in consumer electronics.
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Some kind of depth perception in media is a good thing.

The problem is the implementation. Cutting the effective brightness in half, blurring the image with glasses, and in the worst cases, lowering the effective framerate is just too much of a compromise for most people (including me).

Something like VR, on the other hand, is amazing.


Future 3D screens will probably use eye tracking and MUCH brighter displays with no motion blur, which would make 3D a net positive by far.
 
polonyc2 said:
don't worry James Cameron's 4 Avatar sequels will bring 3D back again from the brink of death...Cameron is a huge proponent of 3D and is looking at a glasses-free version of 3D for the new Avatar movies
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The Avatar sequel project has gotten so bloated, I don't think anyone's going to care by the time they start getting released. And a new glasses-free 3D would likely mean a whole new set of hardware for theaters. Which means most theaters will stick with the 3D tech they have, given the downturn in 3D box office numbers. Plus, Avatar 2 isn't due out until December of 2020. At the rate it's going, 3D will be nearly dead by then.
 
Im still waiting for VR to do the same..... now if we can just issue hunting licenses so we can eliminate the miners who drive up graphics card prices and eliminate available stock in their ever growing quest of 'something for nothing'...
 
nutzo said:
So you are one of the people that the 3d works on. Good for you.

I'm the opposite. Either my eyes or my brain isn't fooled by the 3d fakery, so the screen looks dark and blurry most the time.
The blurriness is so bad during high action scenes, I usually can't even see what is going on.

Hard to enjoy the movie when you can't tell what those 3 blurry objects moving around the screen are supposed to be.
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And since you personally can't enjoy it then nobody should be allowed to? They shouldn't be allowed to keep working on the tech to fix it so that more people can enjoy it later and let those who want to watch it enjoy it?

I don't drink, or drive a motorcycle. Does that mean that nobody else should be allowed to do those things either? Should I be happy every time a person on a motorcycle gets killed before that is one less fucker on the road that shouldn't be there in the first place?

Many in this thread have the mind set of "I don't care for 3D movies so they shouldn't make them anymore", when in reality that thought should stop at the first part. "I don't care for 3D movies" then be followed up with "I wouldn't care if they didn't make them anymore." But instead a dislike or inability to enjoy them has caused a mind set of only what I want should be allowed. As long as movies are released in both 2D and 3D, the 3D version doesn't keep any of you from enjoying the 2D version.
 
Krixon said:
For many people, especially those of us in CA, movies are expensive enough as it is. It's easily $19+ per ticket for a 2D showing, let alone 3D. For me and the wife to go see a movie, it's easily a $50 outing. Unless it's a movie I've been really anticipating, I'll wait to see it at home.

The overwhelming majority of 3D releases are not shot with 3D cameras but are instead converted in post production. Certain movies, like 3D animation etc. lend themselves well to the format, but you run into the problem of ticket costs. For families of 3+, which animated movies are often marketed to, a simple theater outing could clock in at $100.
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Moviepass
 
so called critical acclaim is just marketing talk. Nothing near as spectacular as it is written out to be.
I think pretty much everyone has woken up to that by now.
 
dewbak75 said:
The Avatar sequel project has gotten so bloated, I don't think anyone's going to care by the time they start getting released. And a new glasses-free 3D would likely mean a whole new set of hardware for theaters. Which means most theaters will stick with the 3D tech they have, given the downturn in 3D box office numbers. Plus, Avatar 2 isn't due out until December of 2020. At the rate it's going, 3D will be nearly dead by then.
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don't underestimate the power of James Cameron...he single handedly got all of the major theater chains to completely upgrade their equipment for the original Avatar...and it paid off for theaters as the movie went on to become the highest grossing movie in history (until Force Awakens took that crown)...he will do the same for his Avatar sequels...and in turn television manufacturers will be forced to bring 3D back (at least on their higher end models)
 
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