3D is struggling quite a bit, at least as an attempt to become the norm for theater movies. It’s making up less and less of the total box office product and it appears that the public would rather save cash and see the 2D movie.
I wish 3D would just go away for most releases and become a feature for movies like Werner Herzog’s latest, which I have heard is good for 3D. Nature movies might work, too.
I don’t even think I’ll see Avatar 2 in 3D. Or the Hobbit, which is being filmed that way.
“Cave of Forgotten Dreams” was still pretty headache inducing for me…3D won’t be a major part of my theater going experience in 2016 (or in any other year).
Yep. I don’t know what the general public thinks about 3-D. But I won’t see another one.
For 90% of the movies that have had it, it has been a gimmick and has been generally poorly implemented. For every movie like Avatar which used it to create an immersive and deep experience there have been ten movies like Clash of the Titans where it was a distracting mess (which actually describes the whole movie now that I come to think of it).
The 3D experience has to be really, really good to make up for the insanely high ticket price and the annoyance of having to wear 3D glasses over my regular glasses. I have seen a handful of 3D movies, and only two even came close to being worth it: Avatar, and Up. Everything else, I would have been just as happy or happier seeing in 2D. I am at the point now where I actively avoid 3D showings. And I am someone who was really excited about 3D at first, too.
Looking at the titles of 2011 movies that have been, and are to be released in 3D, pretty damned quickly. While there are several big names there, many of the others are wastes of money. I’m not saying they’re good or bad without having seen them, I’m just saying it’s titles like The Cabin In The Woods, Glee, Bait, Dolphin Tale, A Monster In Paris, Shark Night, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Giselle, Bear and the Bow, Deep Gold and some others are not going to do well in 3D. They’re not event movies. People are getting tired of paying a premium price for big-name movies, so it’s doubtful they’ll pay extra for these (mostly, for now) no-name movies. I think the shark got jumped when Step Up 3 was released in 3D, only no one realized it at the time.
Show me the same graph once they add projected 2012 and 2013 movies, and I’ll bet it looks smaller. Sony has a vested interest in making 3D look look like it’s exploding so I’ll bet we won’t see a similar graph unless someone else does it.
Several of the 2011 release have come and gone without making any kind of an impact. Drive Angry, Deep Gold, Priest, Sanctum, Hoodwinked Too, Mars Needs Moms, Gnomeo & Juliet, Lord of the Dance, Sucker Punch, and Born To Be Wild.
Some are non-US films, like Sanctum & Bait.
I see they’re adding at least one 2012 release to plump the graph. Bear and the Bow (aka Brave), a Pixar movie, isn’t scheduled until summer 2012. There might be more that will be moved.
And what the hell is Toy Story: Hawaiian Vacation? Straight to Video? I can’t even find it on IMDB.
It’s amusing they listed 3D Sex and Zen, the first porn movie in 3D.
Edit to add, look at 1953. I’m sure there are writers who were singing the “3D is the future!” praises that year indeed. Look at 1955, 1956, 1960…etc.
I will not see another movie in 3D until the technology gets to the point where uncomfortable glasses aren’t required.
Maybe it can be used in a non-gimmicky way, but as far as I can tell, that’s not what’s happening. It’s just getting added to every effects-heavy POS so that they can squeeze a few extra bucks out of the audience.
Maybe someday there will be a genuinely good movie where 3D effects actually add to the experience. I am dubious, though. Avatar came closest, but everything in that movie was awful except the effects.
Says you. I personally think it was the one and only movie that HAD to be seen in 3D to get the full effect of Pandora, but I saw it in 2D too and quite enjoyed it. You people are trying to do with Avatar what was done with Titanic, make it seem like a horrible everybody-hates-it movie. Won’t work. Didn’t work for Titanic, which is a classic, haters or no. Won’t work for Avatar either. (Most of) the people who love those movies will always love those movies, but, with occasional exceptions, such as me now, will keep quiet and roll our eyes at people like you who assume that everyone feels the same way. You and your merry band of haters are just noisier. Doesn’t make you right. [/hijack]
How long did the 3D fad last the previous times? I think it was a fad in the 1950’s(House of Wax) and in the 1980’s(Jaws 3D). Every 30 years or so, it comes back.
If Avatar, which came out near Jan 1 2010(3 weeks before that) is the start of the current fad, when would the typical end-date be?
I kind of think Hobbit 2, which hits at the end of 2013 may be one of the final major 3D releases. It’s also being filmed at 48 frames a second, which I actually wished they’d been doing for years.
I didn’t quote because it would be too time-consuming, but Sucker Punch wasn’t in 3D. Trust me, I saw the movie 5 times. It was IMAX, but it wasn’t 3D.
It won’t be ubiquitous by 2016: You’ll still be seeing romcoms and dramas almost exclusively in 2D, for instance. Those won’t convert over until and unless someone comes up with good no-glasses technology (which I’m not really sure can even be done, in theaters). But we’ll still be seeing almost all animation and action in 3D, and by that time, the live-action directors will be finally catching on to how to do it right (animation by and large already does). We’ll also see the ticket prices come much closer to parity, as the theaters amortize the costs of installing the projectors-- It’ll probably be either the same price if you bring your own glasses, or something like a buck more to get a new pair.
I assume you’re talking to both Sparky and me. Sorry.
Look at the graph in post #7 that enzali posted. It lists every movie released in 3D in a way that lets you see the pig in the python. It’s a false view, but it’s handy.
I think you’re right. We’ll see.
Argh, yet another title Sony added to that graph to plump it up and make it look more impressive!
