After the huge success and fantastic use of technology in James Cameron’s blockbuster Avatar 2: The Way Of Water, is 3D back in fashion? This feeling could sneak up on you if you keep a closer eye on the cinema landscape at the moment. In particular, the marketing strategies of the films seem to focus more and more on the 3D aspect of the films. The best example is the MCU movies: even if the superhero adventures were still the last bastion that brought 3D versions of their films to the cinemas, the third dimension hardly played a role in the promotion of the latest blockbusters.
The marketing strategy for “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” is now different. Because here, the actual trailer was followed by another clip where the lamination of the video was broken repeatedly – to give the viewer a sense of space, of course. Finally, a narrator states that this movie is best experienced in 3D:
Surprising: a time-honored horror series now ventures into the third dimension for the first time: The Ghostface killer can in”Scream VI“Murders in 3D. Although the film was only remade, it is still a surprise that the slasher is now also being released in a 3D version. From March 9, 2023 you can get an idea of how successful the 3D murder has become, because then “Scream VI” will start in German cinemas.
Will there be more 3D films in cinemas again?
Did “Avatar 2” cause a new technology hype similar to the one after the first “Avatar”? Not really yet. Even though some studios are focusing more and more on the 3D aspect of their films in their marketing campaigns, a comeback of 3D films is still a long way off. Currently, only 18 films have been announced for the 2023 cinema year, which will receive a 3D evaluation in cinemas this year.
Although there is a slight increase from 2022, when only 13 3D films hit theaters, there is no comparison to the pre-Corona times or the heyday of 3D films. In 2012, a total of 46 (!) films appeared in 3D in the cinema. Movies like “Hugo Cabret”, “Dredd” or “The Amazing Spider-Man” were even filmed in 3D and not just converted afterwards. Many of these high budget productions have pursued a cinematic vision that they wanted to implement through 3D technology and not just used the technology to increase box office revenues.
After the success of “Avatar 2”, other studios may decide to have their films converted to 3D next. At the moment, however, no new 3D trend can be identified (at least in terms of concrete figures).
Does the public want new 3D films at all?
In the cinema year 2023, no movie was shot directly for the third dimension, only the big animation hits such as Pixar’s “Elemental”, “Trolls 3” or “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” are produced in 3D as usual. And even if “Scream 6” now comes to cinemas in 3D, it remains to be seen whether the cinema audience will regain interest in this feature film, which will last longer than the technically top acting “Avatar 2” – the use of 3D technology in the other films this year will certainly not be as brilliant as in James Cameron’s mega blockbuster.
So far this year I have only put one movie on my wish list that I will definitely see in 3D in the cinema: “Spider-Man: A New Universe 2 – Across The Spider Verse”. The first film was already an absolute experience in 3D and expanded the already creative style of the film with a visual level – which is exactly what I expect from the sequel.