Before the 3D re-release of The Lion King came out and topped the box office two weeks running, the talk of the town was a report by Slate showing that 2D film screenings were kicking 3D’s ass in head-to-head showings — meaning many theaters actually stood to lose money by adding 3D showings (and the high-priced equipment). Which, along with some other factors, generally doesn’t bode well for the future of 3D movies.
Luckily, Sony has a plan, and that plan is to stop footing the bill for RealD glasses and make exhibitors pay for them. Wait, what?
Sony Pictures Entertainment has notified theater owners in a letter that it will no longer pay for 3D glasses as of May 1, 2012, marking a major policy shift that many other studios are likely considering.
But the notificiation probably won’t go over well with theater owners, since many feel like they’ve already coughed up enough money in converting their screens to 3D, and that they shouldn’t have to incur the cost of supplying glasses too, according to one source in the exhibition community.
Studios can spend $5 million to $10 million worldwide [on 3D glasses] for a tentpole, but most of the cost is incurred in the North American marketplace (studios pay after the fact, based on how many glasses were actually used).
Glasses for smaller films can cost $1.5 million to $2 million. Translated, 3D glasses account for about 50 cents of a theater ticket.
Sony, along with other studios, is in favor of moving toward an ownership model, requiring moviegoers to buy their 3D glasses at the theater (the studios argue that it could be a new revenue stream for exhibitors).
Who gave Sony the idea that people want to buy 3D glasses? Dammit, this is all V-Nasty’s fault.
The majority of 3D glasses are provided through RealD, which controls the majority of the 3D market domestically through its 3D projection systems. Other 3D systems such as the one offered by Dolby employ a model where the theater owns the glasses, which are returned, cleaned and reused following a screening.
In the U.S., RealD theaters often have recyling containers for the glasses outside the auitorium, but moviegoers may also keep them, meaning new glasses are still needed on a mass basis.
Several years ago, when digital 3D was first emerging, it was unclear who would pay for the glasses. In an effort to encourage movie theaters to convert their screens to the emerging format, Disney told theaters it would cover the cost.
Soon, other studios started following suit, but top executives say it was never their intention to make it an indefinite policy. And at least one studio, Fox, tried to stop paying for the 3D glasses, but was met with stiff resistance from exhibitors. [THR]
Okay, so buy a big dishwasher and clean the damned glasses.We shouldn’t have been just throwing them away in the first place. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before we started seeing sad Sarah McClachlan commercials with b-roll footage of dolphins trapped in dumped and discarded 3D glasses. THEY CAN’T CATCH FISH! IT MAKES THEIR VISION ALL DARK AND BLURRY!
You know, or just stop making so many 3D movies. Either way, really. (WON’T SOMEONE THINK OF THE DOLPHINS?)