Interesting news from the North American box office yesterday, via The Hollywood Reporter:
This week, debate erupted across Hollywood over the fact that a majority of moviegoers in North America chose to see Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides on conventional screens and not shell out the extra money for a 3D ticket.
That’s a first for a major studio tentpole. Usually, 55% to 65% of a film’s opening weekend gross at the domestic box office comes from 3D screens. For Pirates, just 47% saw it in 3D.
I find this interesting because choosing to see a film in 2D instead of 3D is nigh on impossible in New York City, in my experience: all the major multiplexes will show a hot new film in 3D only, and one might have to travel very far indeed to find a multiplex showing the 2D version. Or you might have to go to a really crappy old cinema that hasn’t bothered to upgrade its projectors (not to mention its lumpy old seats and other amenities). I haven’t quite sussed out the situation here in London yet, but I suspect it’s much the same: not as easy to find a 2D version if there’s a 3D one on offer.
Clearly, though, this must not be the case everywhere, if more than half of everyone who saw Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides was able to catch a showing of the 2D version.
What’s it’s like where you are? Are you able to find 2D versions of hot new 3D movies in your hometown?
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