[Reuters]

Attendance was at its lowest mark since 1992, when only 1.17 billion tickets were sold in the U.S. and Canada. With less than a week left in 2011, about 1.23 billion movie tickets have been purchased — 106 million fewer than last year, 279 million fewer than 2009 and 108 million fewer than 2008.

Those who did buy tickets, meanwhile, grew older, with numbers of younger audience members continuing to dwindle.

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3D CAME OF AGE, FOR BETTER AND FOR WORSE

More than 40 movies were released in 3D in 2011, meaning the format is more of a standard feature than theatrical event now.

There were big hits like “Harry Potter” and “Transformers” — but audiences would have flocked to those under any cirumstances. Similarly, they would have avoided the spectacular misses — “Conan the Barbarian,” “Mars Needs Moms,” “Hugo” — under any circumstances, as well.

Of course, in a global downturn with double-digit unemployment, those $2-to-$4 up-charges probably mattered. And, for the most part, it would have to be admitted that with only a few exceptions, the third dimension was hardly worth the price.

Also read: Huge Success of ‘The Lion King’ Re-release Has Studios Studying Their Libraries

Worse, 3D drove up ticket consumer cost at a bad time. Admission prices have stabilized after peaking at $7.89 in 2010, according to the National Association of Theater Owners — but these prices are still well above the $6.88 they averaged in 2007, right before the start of the recession.

There is, however, the upside of found money, with Disney’s under-$10 million 3D conversion of the 1994 family film “The Lion King” rendering $94.2 million upon theatrical re-release over the summer.

And next year will see a flurry of re-releases — not only Disney classics like “Beauty and the Beast,” but “Star Wars” and “Titanic,” too, so the format could end up moving the needle for the industry in major way, after all.

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Read the full story here: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/28/idUS46731772420111228