3D Film: Is The Fad Over?

3d Teen Tech

First Posted: 06/09/11 13:28 BST Updated: 05/11/11 10:12 GMT

Is 3D film just a gimmick that's run its course? A new survey that tracks year-on-year viewing rates and attitude would suggest so. Two-thirds of teenagers are turned off by 3D films and film-goers are 7 times less likely to see a film in 3D instead of in 2D, than they were at this time last year. 3D film is only at the beginning of its revival, yet already it is losing favour.

Research firm Ipsos Mori found that only 29% of 13-17 year olds rated a 3D film as excellent down from 48% in 2010. This year just 28% of women aged 18-34 say the same, down from 41% this time last year.

A spokesperson for the researcher, Ipsos MediaCT, said: “Cinema goers are feeling the financial squeeze just as much as any one else, 3D does seem to appeal to the younger generation and, a bonus to cinema owners, consumers now expect and will pay a premium for the privilege. Technology alone cannot revive the romanticism of the cinema. 3D films are less popular amongst young women and could end the cliché of teenagers kissing in the back rows. This could be due to a majority of 3D films being action movies proving that the story is still key. A 3D film may look pretty, but it needs substance too if it is to revive cinema’s fortunes.”

This survey of 1700 people, or .003 of the UK population suggests that those surveyed have had it with the gimmick of 3D film. When it was initially launch, many criticised it as an unnecessary throwback to the 1950s. These figures suggest that the medium has not delivered as mind-blowing an experience as film-goers expect.

Those who actually make it to the cinema expect to and will spend more on a 3D ticket. Over 54% of people expect to pay an extra £2-3 for a 3D ticket compared to 40% at this time last year. The good news for 3D cinema owners is that most, 62%, are happy to do so. The bad news, that's 62% of a much smaller number of viewers.

The BFI, which runs the BFI IMAX screen, says there is a decline in 3D film-viewing, but suggests that viewers are simply expecting more, rather than rejecting the medium. Nation-wide figures from the BFI show that in the first half of 2011, 22 3D films grossed £144.8 million, and in the last half of 2010, 21 3D films were shown and took in £230.4 million.

Nick Maine, Research Executive at BFI said: "Some people have been asking if the 3D bubble has burst as the percentage of takings from 3D screens has dropped in recent months. We are not sure this conclusion can be drawn from the figures we have. Anecdotal evidence, which looks plausible from our data, is that audiences are becoming more choosy about the films they decide to see in 3D, and are probably going less to see films just for the 3D novelty value. Where the 3D effect is a major part of the viewing experience (for example Street Dance, Cave of Forgotten Dreams or the TT3D, the documentary of the Isle of Man TT races), the proportion of the box office taken at 3D screens remains high."

So what do 3D film-makers need to do to win us over before the re-birth of 3D film dies a death of attrition? Well, make some revolutionary breakthroughs in the technology used to film and screen the pictures, according to one HuffPost blogger.

Read more about what viewers should be demanding from 3D films right here.


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Is 3D film just a gimmick that's run its course? A new survey that tracks year-on-year viewing rates and attitude would suggest so. Two-thirds of teenagers are turned off by 3D films and film-goers ar...
Is 3D film just a gimmick that's run its course? A new survey that tracks year-on-year viewing rates and attitude would suggest so. Two-thirds of teenagers are turned off by 3D films and film-goers ar...
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09:44 AM on 09/07/2011
On the face of it 3D was pushed by the studios not for the user experience, but as a marketing tool, and because it cuts down piracy. Good riddance to it.
09:35 AM on 09/07/2011
Thank God for that. One of the most stupid ideas ever. Adds very little to a film and wearing the glasses is a real nightmare.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
ackezzy
give me a job huff post! im giving you gold here!
01:40 AM on 09/07/2011
duh
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Souldrifter
Newton's 3rd Law of Motion: Not just for physics.
08:35 PM on 09/06/2011
I love 3D films... when it's not just tacked on as a gimmick. Some films have zero business being in 3D, and some of them are just shot wrong. Exceptions are films like Tron: Legacy, which was actually shot in 3D/with 3D in mind from the beginning. And it made an already good movie better, in my opinion. I loved seeing the inside of Flynn's computer in a living, breathing near virtual reality. It was awesome. Some of the animated films are pretty cool in 3D, too (Megamind, Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs). But when it's just your normal run of the mill film that 3D is added to just for marketing sake, then it's major fail (like Conan, Spy Kids, Glee, Jackass, etc)
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Jimisaint
08:02 PM on 09/06/2011
Avatar was GREAT in 3D. Nothing else has really compared yet.
Melanie Hick
Tech Editor, Huff Post UK
04:57 PM on 09/06/2011
I like to watch actual humans. They are mainly 3D.
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Peter Speight
03:46 PM on 09/06/2011
There is a constant problem, never mentioned:
Only things within about 30metres in real life are generally perceived as 3d by our binocular/stereoscopic vision. Past that distance (and most of the world is past that distance!) and everything appears more or less 2d. Because each eye doesn't notice much of a difference between images.
But 3d films make EVERYTHING 3d. So the mountain in the distance now looks like it is 3 feet in front of you! If it was realistic, only the things very close to the camera would be 3d.

I find this incredibly jarring everytime I watch a 3d film, and now I just hate 3d. Plus, the colour contrast and quality is worse, and the stories are generally crap and gimmicky. So really, what is good about 3d?
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Amber Berglund
Just say "no" to shiny pants.
04:39 PM on 09/06/2011
Good point.
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Womanvoter4Obama
Opting out of badges=good decision
01:48 PM on 09/06/2011
I don't really know about teenagers other than my own but she didn't like 3d and neither do I. I feel like I was paying to get a massive headache.