It has been 10 years since "Avatar" was released into theaters. The film grossed over $2.7 billion worldwide and opened a floodgate of 3D movies that hadn't been seen since the 1950s. Shortly after the release of "Avatar," almost every film was trying to add a 3D version. However, after 10 years, 3D is still around, but it doesn't feel as prevalent or as popular as it once was, so what happened?
The largest problem that faced 3D films were their price tags. The technology to convert a film from 2D to 3D doesn't come cheap. Tickets for 3D films cost almost twice as much as standard films. As someone who works in a theater, I've seen moviegoers' reactions to the prices of 3D tickets. It's astonishing people go to 3D movies at all, especially when people are finding the cost of regular tickets too high.
Another problem that arose was filming in 3D. The equipment used to film a film in 3D is often large, cumbersome, and costs a lot of money. This has led most studios to convert 2D films to 3D in post-production. This originally led to a string of poorly converted films such as "The Last Airbender." While the process has improved, it still left a bad taste in many people's mouths and led to further disillusionment with 3D.
There is quite the difference between films that were created with 3D in mind and films that just slapped a 3D version on to get extra money from ticket sales. You have some films created with 3D in mind, such as the flying scenes in "How To Train Your Dragon," other films lack any scenes that justify using 3D. If you're going to go to the trouble to spend more money on 3D, and if I'm going to spend more money to see a 3D movie, the big question we should both be asking is why. What's in your film that makes it worth seeing in 3D?
Due to a combination of all of these, 3D has slowly begun to fade from popular view. People rarely see 3D films, and when they do, it's usually an animated film or high-budget action movie that can make good use of the technology. The initial fad phase of 3D has ended and has settled into a small comfortable niche. It may seem like 3D in films is "dead," but like most things in the entertainment industry, nothing is every 100% "dead."
If people want to see more 3D films in the industry, they need to produce more 3D films that actually take advantage of the technology. Give me a reason to see a film in 3D. Expand the art form in new directions with 3D and experiment with it. Like I said before, if you give people a reason to see a film in 3D, they will go see it in 3D. I love seeing how film changes with technology over the years, I would love to see 3D films brought to their full potential.
