Extra charges for actual 3-D movies not recouping your sunk costs? Try adding extra charges for normal movies!
well, that’s discouraging. or disgusting.
Meh. Makes good business sense and is what ought to have happened in the first place.
The number of new 3D screens seems to be leveling off, so operators have largely had the opportunity to get their own back. So what’s being absorbed? The actual cost of the glasses is insignificant - they cost about $.60 to make and are typically reused scores of times.
Shooting 3D adds about 15% in production costs, and 3D movies account for about 15% of the box office, after adjusting for average mark-up on a 3D ticket.
If the aim is to get butts in seats, diffusing the added cost of 3D makes a lot more sense. $0.15 isn’t much of a disincentive in the real world, and a well-made 3D movie is a pretty good draw. Unhooking the format from the ticket price also removes the temptation for studios to tack on crappy post-production 3D as a cheap cash grab. Fewer crap conversions means better public perception of 3D - sitting through Clash of the Titans is not the same as watching The Adventures of Tintin, Hugo, or Pina.