Dear studios: stop making 3D movies!
Unless it's an Avatar film, the 3D experience is an expensive, uncomfortable, and unsatisfying burden on moviegoing that may continue with Pixar's Elemental
Film Features Baker
Few moviegoing experiences are as discouraging as finding the perfect showtime for one of the year’s most-anticipated movies, only to discover it’s playing in 3D. As someone who spent a decade working at a movie theater, I’ve heard first-hand the gripes from customers about 3D offerings. From murky screens, blurry action, and wallet-draining upcharges on tickets, there are a lot of reasons for customers to lament the 3D experience. Yet, studios keep pushing it, ignoring all evidence of sparsely populated large format 3D screens for almost every film not directed by James Cameron.
And audiences have pulled back the curtain and seen the difference, revealing 3D to be less of an act of wizardry and more of a short con. The latest 3D release is Disney and Pixar’s Elemental, which was filmed in digital 3D, like most of Disney’s animated features. The probable thought process for Disney is the 3D element will draw audiences back to theaters after they’ve become used to watching Pixar movies at home on their televisions thanks to the studio’s Disney+ release strategy.
There’s also the fact the film is tracking for a modest $31–$41 million opening, so Disney is probably banking on 3D as an incentive for people to experience Elemental in the theater, rather than waiting 90 days until it hits Disney+. This bet isn’t much different from what prompted 3D movies in the mid-20th century, only then it was a novelty rather than the norm.
An ophthalmologist helps start a moviegoing craze
By 1950, movie theater attendance had fallen drastically as more American homes had access to television. Milton Gunzburg, a screenwriter for MGM, who believed the method through which he’d shot 3D home movies could be modified for the motion picture industry. Gunzburg, along with his brother Julian, an ophthalmologist, and cinematographer Friend Baker (who had been in the motion picture industry since 1915) developed a process for filming and projecting 3D features by way of dual-strip Polaroid filters. The only problem with Gunzburg’s solution was none of the studios were interested. 20th Century Fox, Paramount, and Gunzburg’s former home, MGM, all passed on the new technology. Ultimately it was former radio man and independent film producer Arch Oboler who saw the vision in 3D.
“A LION in your lap! A LOVER in your arms!” That was the promise attached to Oboler’s Bwana Devil (1952), the first English, feature-length, and colorized 3D film. Bwana Devil follows three big game hunters tracking down a pair of bloodthirsty lions attacking villagers during the construction of the Uganda Railway. The film was a hit with audiences and afterwards, the very same studios who’d passed on Gunzburg’s innovations were suddenly in the 3D business.
The following year, Columbia released Man In The Dark, Warner Bros. released House Of Wax (which Gunzburg was the 3D supervisor on), Disney joined the fun with Melody, and Universal-International came out with It Came From Outer Space. The rush to get 3D films to the screens resulted in many being projected incorrectly, out of sync, or damaged, which almost killed the 3D craze right as it took off. Yet, thanks to interest from filmmakers like Alfred Hitchcock and Jack Arnold, 3D managed to survive a little longer, with Hitch’s Dial M For Murder (1954), and Arnold’s Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954) being the standout examples.
It wouldn’t be until StereoVision, a single-strip format developed by Allan Silliphant and optical designer Chris Condon in 1970 that 3D became technologically viable again. Still, it was a format used for pornos and horror movies, a means for small studios to rake in a lot of cash on cheap productions. Friday The 13th Part 3 (1982), Jaws 3-D (1983), and Amityville 3-D (1983) were popular releases during this brief revival, alongside re-releases of older horror films. For the next couple of decades, 3D was mostly reserved for theme park attractions.
Avatar saves 3D moviegoing … almost
The 21st century brought 3D back to the mainstream once again, with re-releases, concert films, family films, and horror movies being the most consistent options. My Bloody Valentine 3-D (2009) ushered in RealD 3D, which remains the most utilized theatrical 3D technology. It wouldn’t be until later that year that the 3D game was changed completely by James Cameron’s Avatar, a film shot in 3D, rather than converted in post-production.
The difference in quality in terms of the depth of the image, the lighting and in the clarity of its fast-paced action sequences was immediately noticeable. Cameron’s efforts were rewarded by Avatar becoming the highest-grossing movie of all time. Every studio in Hollywood took notice. But filming in 3D as Cameron had done, was expensive.
Studios opted for a cheaper workaround—shooting the film with more traditional cameras and then converting the footage to 3D in post-production—and hoped audiences would be just as thrilled. And they were … for while. Who could forget 2010, when studios rushed to take advantage of the 3D format? We got Alice In Wonderland, Clash Of The Titans, Jackass 3D, The Last Airbender, Cats & Dogs: The Revenge Of Kitty Galore, Step Up 3D, Piranha 3D, Saw 3D, Tron: Legacy, and Gulliver’s Travels, just to name a few.
Studios became gluttons for 3D conversions, saturating the market with what were most frequently eyesores, though sometimes delivering worthwhile 3D experiences, like Piranha and Tron: Legacy, that took advantage of the format. Studios failed to understand people were growing tired of the surcharge for poorly projected 3D features, which alienated families keeping a close eye on their wallets, and older moviegoers who didn’t want to wear glasses over their bifocals.
3D releases continued because both exhibitors and studios couldn’t turn down the chance of better box office numbers. The pandemic resulted in a downward trend of 3D releases and when theaters opened again, just going back to the movies was incentive enough to attract audiences. Then two things happened: shortened theatrical release windows, and Avatar: The Way Of Water.
And now the old devil that Oboler let loose has reared its head again as studios try to entice people back to theaters with the spectacle of 3D, once again failing to understand Cameron’s films are a special case and most folks aren’t looking to see Fast X or The Little Mermaid in 3D.
3D certainly has its fans, but how many times has it improved your moviegoing experience? You can probably count the number on one hand. Maybe Elemental will add to that count and be an amazing 3D experience. Still, it feels like studios are failing to read the room.
The 3D conversion business is a waste of resources and theatrical space, Ideally, 3D should be reserved for special screenings and filmmakers who can use it as a tool to sculpt their films. Everyone else needs to focus on other dimensions to make the theatrical experience worthwhile.
73 Comments
Why did so-called “4D” movies where 3D effects were supplemented by things like fans providing wind or water spraying from the ceiling to represent rain never make it out of amusement parks?
Not true! I’ve had plenty of fun times at Jurassic World D-Box or Spider-Man: Homecoming 4D.I’m sure there are other brands, but those are the two that leap out at me. Jurassic World D-Box was a great experience, it really did feel like an amusement park ride (and helped me overlook the dreadful plot and writing).
Looking this up, TIL that D-box was a thing. I seriously have never heard about it as my local theaters don’t have it, but yes, it sounds like it is bringing some of the “4D” effects to the theater.
honestly, for the right kind of (mediocre) movie, i would 100% recommend D-Box over traditional cinemas. Jurassic World as a ride – my cinema had moving seats, “island scents”, splashing water – was honestly one of the best amusement park rides I’ve ever been on. I can’t even imagine having to struggle through it as a “movie”, though.
Yeah I guess it wouldn’t really add to My Dinner with Andre. Smell the urine and feel the rumble of the subway as Wally makes his way to the restaurant! Smell the potato soup and Andre’s too-strong cologne at dinner!
I have seen movies in 4DX in 3D all the time including James Bond No Time To Die which was the most Bond experience I ever had watching a James Bond movie.All the movies release in 4DX and MX4D and D-Box. Mission Impossible, Scream 6, you name it.
These have made their way to regular cinemas as well: http://www.mx-4d.com/
…reserved for pornos and horror movies…
Feel-Around(tm) !
I traveled miles and hours at the last minute to see 1953’s Inferno at the Museum of the Moving Image where it was well received by a good sized crowd. Not too many 2D movies I would do for that.
#1 Fast X wasn’t released in the US (Mexico and some other places)#2 Saw The Final Chapter, Tron Legacy, and Step Up 3d weren’t conversions Jackass 3D was a partial conversion
Bwana Devil is coming soon on 3D Blu-ray
Jupiter Ascending was 3D. Parts of it actually made sense ( or rather, seeing the shadow chase in Chicago in 2D didn’t make any sense).
I would actually like to see Friday The 13th 3 in 3D. Apparently there’s only like one film copy that still exists with the original 3D?
I’d like to see Star Wars: the Phantom Menace in 3-d. It’s just sitting there, never released ( and Disney has released everything Star Wars related).
Not everything, They are still holding back the original trilogy un-specialized. I know Lucas claims that the originals were destroyed when he “specialized” them but film prints have been found for all 3 and fan restorations look good. I would love to see Disney put money behind doing a full 4K restore without any of the add ons
You can get it on DVD with 2 pairs of hockey mask glasses. Looks like shit, though.
Shout Factory as part of the Friday the 13th collection, all others on blu-ray are anaglyph
Studios became gluttons for 3D conversions, saturating the market with what were most frequently eyesores, though sometimes delivering worthwhile 3D experiences, like Piranha and Tron: Legacy, that took advantage of the format.There’s a reason those 2 films were standouts: Both were filmed to be 3D, rather than completely post-conversions. Tron: Legacy pioneered its own 3D camera system to film the Grid sequences (it was briefly considered a groundbreaking new technique until everyone saw the system that James Cameron had been developing at the same time). Piranha 3D couldn’t afford to film with 3D cameras, but filmed background plate shots from multiple angles so that they could be used in the post-conversion process to make the depth-of-field more natural.
Was MBV3D really the first film to employ RealD? I worked at a theater from 2005-2009 and remember it being advertised very early on in the 3D boom a few years before MBV came out. I can’t seem to find a list of films utilizing RealD specifically, but I really doubt MBV was the very first. Regardless, there were other Digital 3D formats being used before 2009. According to Wikipedia, the first wide Digital 3D release, of which RealD is the most popular format, that wasn’t just a post-conversion was Monster House in 2006. There was also Sharkboy and Lava Girl in 2005 which used James Cameron’s Reality/Fusion Camera System which is a bit different from Digital 3D.
3D is here to stay no matter what. And a lot of people around the world prefer 3D over 2D. People were disappointed that Across the Spider-Verse was not released in 3D and that speaks a lot.
Was Into the Spider-verse even out in 3D. I feel like it came out after the fad had died
All the Spider-Man movies are in 3D since 2012 and look great in 3D. Especially Spider-Verse 1 which is far greater than Avatar from 3D.Spider-Verse 2 is the only one not in 3D.The Avatar movies don’t look that good in 3D, you just haven’t seen the other 3D movies.
I’ve seen a lot of 3D movies and most didn’t impress me. Spider-verse was amazing without 3D so I don’t feel the need to put glasses on to watch it
I think 3D is dead and buried here in Australia. I can’t remember the last time I saw a film available to see in 3D.
Having just seen Robot Monster in 3D at a film fest, and having previously seen real 3D versions of House of Wax and Creature from the Black Lagoon, I think 3D can be a ton of fun and add a lot to the theatrical experience. I wish 3D TVs still existed, though. Disappointing that got phased out and now I have a bunch of useless 3D blu-rays.
I have a hearty 3D blu-ray collection and I’m just praying nothing happens to my 3D TV.They are still making projectors that support it though.
Yeah, if I had a house that I could set up a projector in a light-controlled room I’d be all over that. But my Panasonic Plasma’s logic board just randomly blew out 5 years ago and already at that point 3D TVs were a thing of the past. Ah well. I have about 30 3D Blu-rays (most of them being vintage movies where you can still play them in 2D just fine, but they definitely lose something in 2D). It’s a couple outliers like Pat Metheny – Orchestrion that don’t want to work right in 2D.
In my current house I don’t have a good area for a projector set-up, but that is going to be a requirement in my next one.Thankfully most of the movies I bought came with a separate 2D version so there’s not much worry about that… although the main reason I bought most of them were for the 3d effect (and / or they were cheap!)I might have to get Orchestrion… I hadn’t heard of that before, looks interesting.
Yeah I was gonna say that many home projectors still have 3D features although its getting harder to find Blu-ray players that support the feature.
I’ve always just used my PS3 or PS4.They’re also nice because they can play all regions, which is necessary since most releases aren’t in the US anymore… I would guess at least 30 or 40 of mine are from another region. Mostly the UK, but a couple from Australia, and one from Japan.
Yep but both are becoming harder to get a hold of. I don’t think the PS5 supports 3D playback. I know the XBox consoles don’t.
I haven’t tried on my PS5, but I assume it doesn’t.It’s been a few years since I worked in a video game store, but I’m pretty sure any decent local shop has at least a dozen PS3s just waiting for the right person (with $129.99)
3D 4K TV’s still exist in foreign countries. AliExpress sells a 3D 4K Smart TV for $329 plus less than $200 shipping.
You can buy a new 50 inch 3D 4K TV on AliExpress for $329 + $185 shipping.I think you can message the seller for up to 85 inch model.
Do any sane people actually drop $500 at AliExpress? I’m all for trying to buy a $100 device for $10 with free shipping from there since, worse case, you are out ten bucks. But $500 is too rich for my blood to gamble on that site.
You can pay with PayPal, so you can always call to get your money back if you don’t get it in a couple of months.
Well, this won’t help with the blu rays, but VR headsets are 3D compatible. It’s kind of amazing, actually. If you have a digital file of a 3D film, then you can watch it in a virtual theater. I use it in my Oculus sometimes. It’s insanely customizable. So, if you ever wanted to watch Avatar in 3D on a thousand foot screen floating in space while you sit on the surface of the moon, you can. Honestly, I would use it more, but my cats think that my blindfolded arm waving is an invitation to play. It’s actually dangerous. Extremely cool, though.
As one of the 15 people that still have a 3d tv and 3d blu-ray collection, I hope they keep making them.Unfortunately fewer of them are getting home releases… Most are released in the UK / Australia, although Marvel Phase 4 films are only getting released in Japan.
Why make an exception for Avatar, of all movies?
I mean, did you see Avatar in 3D? It was pretty exceptional.
I did, and I was bored the whole time.
I get that it’s not for everyone (including me, I was definitely holding my nose going in) but I feel like you kinda have to make up your mind not to have any fun in order to not take ANY joy from that kind of spectacle .
No, I think you might be projecting your own entertainment preferences and sensibility onto other people. It felt like watching someone else play a boring video game. I kept waiting for something exciting to happen, but no dice.
Sorry you didn’t care for it.
Because both of the films look amazing in 3D and were actually worth checking out on the big screen. Say what you will about the plot or story, but the 3D worked.
But all the 3D movies look amazing in 3D these past many years:Doctor Strange moviesAnt-Man moviesStar Wars moviesMission Impossible moviesGuardians of the Galaxy moviesDreamworks movies (Puss in Boots 2)Illumination movies (Super Mario)Transformers moviesThe Little Mermaid (2023)So what’s the problem with having all these great breathtaking 3D movies?The auther sounds like a Boomer yelling at kids to get off their lawn.
Scorsese said that MCU movies are like amusement park rides, but what about movies like Oppenheimer or any Nolan film for that matter? You’re being told to go to specific screens to see and then never see it in that format again. I see as many movies as possible in the theater but if you tell me there are only a handful of theaters in the country I’ll stick with a normal screen.If your movie loses its flair when not seen on a specific screen, it certainly can’t be called timeless now can it? (I’m not saying the MCU is timeless)
I missed The Hateful Eight in theatres entirely because I kept reading that I just have to see it in the right format, which turned out to be no format that was available here.
I don’t fall for that shit anymore.
If your movie loses its flair when not seen on a specific screen, it certainly can’t be called timeless now can it? Does that mean we’re not allowed to describe Disney’s Fantasia as “timeless” unless we watch it in an auditorium with the original Fantasound multi-channel audio system?
Nothing wrong with 3D movies, just stop making movies with crappy 3D.
This is the problem, not movies being shown in 3D, but the shitty post-filming conversions that most use.
All the movies have great 3D these past may years, from Super Mario to Guardians of the Galaxy volume 3 to The Little Mermaid to Transformers Rise of the Beasts.
It’s not that studios need to stop making 3D movies, it’s that they need to make them *for* 3D. The remake of “My Bloody Valentine” was a lot of fun, in large part because a slasher film provided many opportunities to poke sharp implements out of the screen. “Monsters vs. Aliens” brought back the paddle-ball gag from “House of Wax.”
In my experience, 3D conversions are solely about adding depth to the background, not about making films the immersive experience that initially made 3D fun.
All the movies have been made for 3D from Mission Impossible to Transformers to The Little Mermaid to Fast X to Guardians of the Galaxy to Super Mario etc. etc.All the 3D movies made these last many years are immersive, you just have to watch the new 3D movies is all.Rght now you can catch Super Mario, Guardians of the Galaxy volume 3, The Little Mermaid and Transformers Rise of the Beasts all in 3D in theaters right now.
That’s not true. Of those, “Mario” is the only one that isn’t a post-production 3D conversion. And if this review of the film’s different formats is accurate, there’s very little popping out of the screen, which is what I mean by “immersive.”https://www.theshortcut.com/p/super-mario-bros-movie-review-3d-4dx-imaxI haven’t seen the 3D versions of any of those particular films, but I’ve seen plenty of 3D conversions since “Clash of the Titans,” and none have significantly featured things emerging from the screen.
Decent history of 3D, but let’s not forget 1981’s “Comin’ at Ya!” It was an inexpensive Spaghetti Western that single-handedly kickstarted the early ‘80s 3D boomlet.
I actually saw that in the theater when it opened. So, so, so bad…
Me too! And sure, it wasn’t good, but 3D had been dormant for so long that the novelty made it a hit. At least it delivered on things comin’ at ya.
Not a word about the finest 3D production of all time?
That is indeed a classic.. They laughed at me in Budapest. THEY LAUGHED AT ME IN PRAGUE! That still comes out sometimes when at a pub with friends…
Isn’t there usually an option to see it in either format?Only modern 3d I have seen was Pirahna. Hyper violent fish carnage and 3d boobies bouncing. It was great.
I’m trying to remember the last time I even saw that a movie was playing in 3D at the theaters near where I live. This article feels like it was from about 7 years ago.
Yeah, I’m pretty much not going to want to see a movie in 3D unless that movie is either made by James Cameron, or was a stop-motion animation film (since Coraline made even better use of the technology than Avatar.)
I screwed up my ticket for Guardians 3 and had to buy at the counter, for the first time in years.
“The only show in the next thirty minutes is (blah blah blah), but it’s not in 3D.”“Oh thank god.”
The first movie I saw in “modern” 3D was Avatar and the last one was Clash of the Titans; both were because the Carmike Cinemas by my apartment didn’t have it in any other option. I struggled through Avatar but almost walked out of Clash of the Titans – not only was the movie bad, but it was a waste of Gemma Arterton.
Watching movies in 3D is always uncomfortable for me because of my need for glasses. If I can avoid watching them, I will.
So you only saw movies in 3D from 2010 to 2011 and only 2 movies at that.2015 onward has been the great years for 3D. You can currently catch Guardians of the Galaxy volume 3, The Little Mermaid and Transformers Rise of the Beasts all in 3D right now.
Counterpoint: Keep making (good) 3D movies now that they won’t suck watching them at home anymore with the Apple Vision Pro.
I remember during the height of the 3D craze seeing movies in 2D but thinking, “Oh, this bit definitely got a conversion for the 3D cut.” Things like Thor’s hammer flying directly at the camera.
So the Author admits the last time he saw a 3D movie was 2011, LOL.As 3D conversions are actually more expensive than Native 3D. But Ntaive 3D films always have a weak 3D effect because no one works on them.Avatar 2 is a Posr 3D Conversion as it says so in the Credits of Avatar the Way of Water.3D doesn’t give people headaches nor eye-strain anymore thanks to Laser Projectors and HDR TVs which is literally the only reason these 2 things were invented.As for memorable 3D movies, well all of them have been for the past many years:Godzilla VS. KongBoss Baby 2Black WidowJungle CruiseFree GuyShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten RingsVenom 2No Time To Die (James Bond)DuneSpider-Man No Way HomeRRRNeZha ReBornA Writers OdysseyDoctor Strange 2Jurassic World DominionLightyearMinions the Rise of GruThor Love and ThunderJaws 1 (1975) 3D re-releaseBrahmāstraBlack Panther Wakanda ForeverPuss in Boots the Last WishGuardians of the Galaxy volume 3The Little Mermaid (2023)Transformers Rise of the Beasts
3D certainly has its fans, but how many times has it improved your moviegoing experience? One: Coraline. The sets were designed for 3D, with the real world scenes having a skewed perspective that made the other world scenes feel more inviting.