As much as we like to deride the ever growing fad that is 3D, every now and then a statistic that comes out that puts us in our place, proving that as much as we whine about its overuse, 3D is here to stay simply because money says so.
Digital Spy got their hands on a PricewaterhouseCoopers report suggesting that 50-70% of cinema tickets sales are coming from 3D showings, with over 40 films coming out next year that will make our ears, eyes and nose uncomfortable. Not only is this a huge bummer because movies that generally would be good in 2D will now be bogged down by a distracting trend, but studios are looking to convert older movies to the format because they think that’s what people want. And we all know how that works out (I’m looking at you Clash of the Titans.)
On the plus side, the authors of the report had this to say about where 3D may be headed in the future:
Generally speaking, the sustainability of the 3D ticket premium is questioned by some players whom we interviewed.
It’s possible that much like in the 80s the trend will die out or at the very least calm down. 3D definitely has its place, especially in animation and for films like Tron: Legacy, a movie I’ll never watch again unless it’s in IMAX 3D, but there has been a horrendous overuse of the medium since James Cameron first announced his new 3D technology for Avatar, years before the film even came out. It would be nice to see this go away, but for now, we’ll just have to let 3D have its way with us until it gets tired and we can escape.
