So I am trying to watch Tron Legacy. I had been very interested in the movie, as it comes from some of the staff behind LOST and has a soundtrack from Daft Punk. And then add the sleek visual style it portrays. However, I did not want to pay the extra money for the 3-D, nor did I want to pay more for the IMAX---because in IMAX the film is only in 3-D. But, the 2-D showings were very minimal, and most theaters don’t even carry the movie if its not in 3-D. This is a problem and needs to end now.
The 3-D craze is crafting a bubble that is inches away from bursting. The movie studios can claim that 3-D has helped the sales of their movies (6 of the top 10 movies in the past year in terms of box office figures came in 3-D) but attendance is dropping rapidly, less people are going to the movies, the experience of seeing a movie has become more expensive (and more irritating). With the 3-D movies all over the place, now they offer the 2-D experience, which means more screens for the same movie. Which in turn means less movies in each theater. Which in turns means less movies getting attention in the theaters. Which leads to many more flops and fewer big hits. Not to mention it becomes harder for the indie films to create buzz outside Oscar season.
Part of my self-education is trying to watch more movies in the theater. But when you have to dig just to find a 2-D showtime for a movie marketed in 3-D, it is not a good sign. The worst part is movies that have no reason to be in 3-D are being done in 3-D. Movies like The Green Hornet, Thor, Justin Bieber, The Last Airbender, Yogi Bear, Alpha and Omega, the final Harry Potter, and even Jackass were made with glasses in mind. Even the Great Gatsby (currently in production), a movie based off an early 20th century novel about pre-Depression has a good chance of arriving in 3-D. Even the fourth Pirates movie is in 3-D, and the first three made more than enough money in the 2-D format. While I am not requesting that we ban all 3-D films, we should limit the number of 3-D flicks. I do not want to pay past $13 just for a ticket.
3-D has become a crutch, and it hurts more than it helps. Look at Toy Story 3, which came out in 3-D. It was a spectacular film, and easily could have been the highest-grossing animated film in American history. It had the decent trailers, the outstanding reputation of Pixar and the first two Toy Stories, the nostalgia factor, and best of all, minimal competition for a few weeks. But, with the 3-D nonsense, Toy Story 3 became more expensive to watch. Surely it did hit the worldwide mark of a billion, but in the United States they couldn't even top Shrek 2, which came out in 2004.
Why? Because the running power of Toy Story was mauled by lack of 2-D screens, while the 3-D screens were quickly being replaced with upcoming competition. Toy Story 2 spent 35 weeks in the box office because of a Golden Globe win, and constant repeat viewings. Toy Story 3 on the other hand spent just 24 weeks in the box office..when it could have been around longer...especially with its strong word-of-mouth. It is tougher to want to see a movie in theaters again when it costs so much the first time. With 3-D, for every hit there are a half dozen flops. With less 3-D screens than regular screens, you have more films in fewer theaters, making it sometimes an adventure to find a movie you want to see.
December was extremely slow in box office standards, and the #1 movie now is the least-attended #1 movie in a post-MLK weekend in over a decade. 5 of the top 15 grossing movies this past weekend are in 3-D. Less people are going to the movies, and it will reach a point in which no studio wants to release a movie in just 2-D to make ends meet, and we will hit a breaking point when we will just stop watching 3-D movies altogether. This happened way back in the 1950s, and then happened again in the 1980s. It is going to happen again, and soon.
Bottom Line: Please, stop the 3-D. They are ruining the experience of going to a movie theater with the family and watching a movie--because its becoming more and more expensive, and more of a hassle. I have yet to see a 3-D movie and I never will, because movies should not rely on gimmicky glasses to entice the mainstream audience to watch them. Perhaps if more people would avoid 3-D movies altogether, we can save cinema.
Until then, I will continue to search for a 2-D showing of Green Hornet.....
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