In 2009, James Cameron had a vision of the cinematic future: 3D. To be fair, Hollywood already went down that road decades before, in a much more gimmicky fashion, but the blockbuster director had designed “Avatar” completely around the supposedly immersive experience. $2.7 billion worldwide later, the industry believed the format to be a savior, and soon we were seeing movies both shot natively in the format, and converted in post-production, flooding the big screen. But a funny thing has happened in the eight years that have passed: audiences have cooled out on the whole thing.
IMAX Entertainment CEO Greg Foster revealed during an analyst call that the large format screening company has seen moviegoers start wanting less 3D movies, and as a result, they’re going to start binning those glasses.
“The demand for 2D films is starting to exceed 3D in North America,” Foster said, adding that audiences have a “clear preference” for 2D over 3D, at least in North America.
Certainly, showing up opening weekend for the must-see tentpole only to realize that every single screening is in 3D has become a bummer, not to mention the extra surcharge that comes with already high ticket prices. IMAX’s strength has always been the sheer size of their cinemas (don’t get me going on their smaller, lie-MAX rooms) and helping get pictures like Christopher Nolan‘s 70mm “Dunkirk” shown in the best presentation possible. If this is a beginning of a pivot back to what makes IMAX great, I’m all in.
The IMAX shift isn’t going to be slow moving either. For example, this fall’s highly anticipated “Blade Runner 2049” will on screen in 2D in IMAX cinemas.
READ MORE: ‘Blade Runner 2049’ Features Unfilmed Scene From ‘Blade Runner’
One has to wonder, as Cameron preps his string of “Avatar” sequels, if he’s making them for an audience that is already tired of a format he still champions. [THR]