3D movies slowly becoming the new standard

Contributed

Over the past couple of years, 3D movies have been growing in popularity. This trend, while enjoyable for some, is a wallet drain and a waste of time for others. The extra $3 charge has some people turned away, while some just don’t like the graphics. Somehow, 3D movies often bring in more revenue than the 2D versions of the same film.

In the last few years, movie-goers have gone from expecting one 3D movie every four months or so, to seeing one or two of the many 3D movies coming out every mont

“Avatar,” released in Dec. 2009, made $2.7 billion in revenue at the box office. “When studios heard that ‘Avatar’ did so well because it was in 3D, studios wanted to capitalize on that,” Smith said.

            Revenue isn’t the only reason more studios are producing 3D movies. 3D movies are a “ploy by Hollywood so movie piracy will go down,” Smith said. In the past decade, movie piracy has become more prevalent. “The American movie industry loses an estimated $1 billion annually to illegal copies of its films,” according to Garrett Sussman of Value Line. Numbers coming from Torrent Freak report that “Avatar,” which was released in both 2D and 3D, was downloaded illegally 500,000 times in the first two days of its release and 980,000 times in the first week. Studios are counting on the fact that it’s much harder to record and sell a movie illegally when you have to deal with 3D glasses. If “Avatar” had been released only in 3D, the piracy rates would be much lower.

            Many movies that have come out recently, including “Step Up 3D” and “Resident Evil 4: Afterlife” are only offered in 3D, which is upsetting to some viewers. Some movies, such as the July 2010 released “Despicable Me,” are offered in both 2D and 3D versions, which is especially beneficial to large families. Surprisingly enough, “It seems like there are more customers coming to the 3D version when we other both,” Smith said. When Carmike offers both, “we keep the 2D less time so the customers will go see the 3D version,” according to Smith.

            3D movies have an extra charge of $3 per ticket, which brings the evening adult price at Carmike 12 in Athens to $12.25. Jennifer Mooney, a customer at Carmike, said the extra charge is a deterrent, “especially if you’re taking someone out.”

Another customer complained, “I like them, I just can’t afford them.” Some customers, when they find out there is an extra charge, change their plans and see a different movie. But some, especially those with children, still pay to see the movie in 3D. “You can get customers to pay anything if it’s for their kids,” said Smith. “And 3D movies are aimed toward children.”

            Often, it isn’t only the cost that turns people away. Some customers don’t mind paying an extra three dollars, but simply don’t enjoy the 3D effects. “You can do a lot of cool things with 3D, but for the most part, 3D right now is just for kids,” Smith said. One customer at Carmike Cinemas complained, “Ugh. You lose the definition of the characters in a 3D movie. Everything goes by so fast.” Some customers have even complained of headaches when using the 3D glasses.

            The story line of films often suffers in order to meet the needs of 3D effects. “3D movies seem to be visually driven rather than story-oriented,” Smith said. “The more impressive the 3D effects are, the more customers are happy with the movie.”

            So overall, are customers enthusiastic about the rise of 3D movies? Not really. “They’re okay, but the thing about it is, when you go to a 3D movie, not the whole movie is in 3D,” said Mooney. Some customers only enjoy 3D effects for certain types of movies. Crissy Abercrombie, another Carmike customer, said “I like if it’s a really exciting movie, but if it’s a romantic comedy, there’s really no purpose.” There are certain exceptions, such as Carmike customer Allen White, who said “I think it’s awesome…brings the movie more to life.”

            When you step out of the theater at the end of a 3D movie at Carmike 12, there are recycling bins, encouraging customers to help the environment by recycling their 3D glasses. So while theaters and studios are profiting from this latest movie trend, at least they’re going green while still making green.