Boxoffice share is falling, but that’s due to screen crunch
By Carl DiOrio
The sky isn’t falling, but theatrical 3D may be finding its natural water level.
That in an extra-dimensional nutshell is how film distribution execs feel about recent signs that the ratio of 3D-to-2D grosses for pics has settled into a range just below that marked by early 3D releases when the format was a consumer novelty. They scoff at the notion of “3D fatigue” floated in a spate of media reports while acknowledging pricing may have outpaced demand for some family pics.
Some first took note of the situation when Disney’s “Toy Story 3” — which has rung up $635 million in worldwide boxoffice — opened last month with a studio-estimated 60% 3D contribution. Just a few months earlier, Disney’s “Alice in Wonderland” and DreamWorks Animation’s “How to Train Your Dragon” had rung up a lustier two-thirds of their boxoffice in 3D auditoriums.
” ‘Toy Story 3’ may gross up to $400 million domestically,” a top distribution exec at a rival studio noted. “To suggest anything is wrong with that makes no sense.”
More Chicken Littles surfaced when Universal’s July 9 opener “Despicable Me” bowed with an estimated 45% of its first-frame coin coming from 3D venues. But few industryites expected anything else in light of the pic’s modest number of 1,551 3D theaters, a result of too many 3D pics in the marketplace and too few 3D screens available in the nation’s movie theaters.
“Despite any lower 3D percentage, there’s still considerable incremental gross advantage to both distributors and exhibitors,” Universal distribution president Nikki Rocco said. “But I do love offering moviegoers the option of seeing a picture in either format. Having audiences be able to make a choice for the family is a good thing.”
Paramount’s July 1 release “The Last Airbender” boasted a similarly modest number of 3D locations while marking a 3D share of 55%. It’s worth noting that the family fantasy bowed among broadly derisive reviews that were hardly an encouragement for parents to shell out extra for the pic’s extra-dimensional version.
The 3D-to-2D gross decline follows the phenomenal 82% average 3D share marked by “Avatar” during its record theatrical run. But the Fox blockbuster — virtually the only 3D release in the market for much of its run — was an unusual mix of motion-capture animation and live action, and word quickly spread following its December debut that 3D was the way to see the epic fantasy.