In 2009, the highest-grossing movie ever hit big screens in the form of James Cameron’s 3D sci-fi epic 'Avatar'. Breaking box office records almost twice over at a staggering $2,782,275,172 worldwide gross - the previous record held by Cameron’s previous film 'Titanic' at a whopping $1,843,201,268 gross. There was genuine anticipation and excitement about the resurgence of an almost forgotten form of cinema, seemingly confined to the drive-ins of the 1950s. Fast-forward less than two years later and this anticipation and excitement appears to have turned to apathy and boredom.
Following the success of 'Avatar', studios couldn’t wait to find the next big 3D property, with multiplexes fitting 3D projectors en masse and big studios investing heavily in 3D technology. Initially it seemed as though 3D was here to stay. The next major 3D release, Tim Burton’s 'Alice in Wonderland' adaptation took in a huge $1,024,299,904 worldwide, this was followed subsequently by 'Clash of the Titans' (a retrofit taking in $493,214,993) then 'Shrek Forever After' ($752,600,867). The numbers looked great.
It seemed that things were just as rosy going further into 2010 and 2011, with the release of massive properties such as 'Toy Story 3' ($1,063,171,911) and 'Despicable Me' ($544,513,985) and on the face of it, you would be right in making this assumption. However, it turns out that more people went to see 'Toy Story 3' and 'Despicable Me' in 2D than they did in 3D. Variety reports that the shares of Disney, DreamWorks Animation, and RealD have all dropped thanks to disappointing 3D returns on 'Kung Fu Panda 2'. The film itself did well with a $345,630,461 worldwide gross, however only 46% of the audiences who saw it watched it in 3D.
It seems that there is a strong decline in audiences’ hunger for 3D cinema, many complaining at high ticket prices and it adding very little to the whole viewing experience. It is also important to factor in the many audience members who can’t watch it in 3D due to problems with their eyes, many complaining of getting excruciating headaches – myself being one of them – and the health warnings from medical bodies for children under seven who are not supposed to watch films in 3D for fear of future sight problems.
So, to the future. For 3D to survive, it needs some massive hits at the box office. The two major films, which could help determine its future are 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' and 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two'. 'Transformers' is the third in a series of the smash hit franchise, though there have been many reports of problems with shooting in 3D. So many in fact, that director Michael Bay took to his online forum to deny any problems in production. This is the first 'Transformers' movie in 3D and after a disappointing second installment, it appears that DreamWorks will have to work extra hard to keep their 3D audiences, especially as it will be offering the 2D alternative.
The second of these films is a retrofit – a film not shot in 3D, which has retroactively been converted to 3D – this could indicate how much faith the studios have in the 3D format. After that, there appears to be very little on offer for 3D audiences, with Christopher Nolan having already stated that 'The Dark Knight Rises' will not be shot in 3D. It appears that the real story will be told when the sequel to 'Avatar' hits screens next year, but until then it seems that 3D’s popularity is waning.
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