3-D, The Way to Be?

A friend of ours recently vowed that he’s done with 2-D movies — at least in the theater. That doesn’t mean he’ll be hard up for choice, though, this year alone 15 3-D films hit the box office. It makes us wonder … Have 3-D movies made the old-fashion kind obsolete? How does 3-D hold up at the home theater? Is it all just a gimmick?

Like flying cars and meals-in-a-pill, the promise of 3-D movies has been around for decades. In fact, those tacky 3-D glasses made their debut with 1953’s ‘House of Wax‘, but recently things have really taken off at the theater. Last weekend, box office newbie ‘G-Force‘ knocked the seemingly unstoppable ‘Harry Potter‘ off the top spot with a slim $2.1 million margin, and 3-D showings made a substantial 56% of the gross. Potter’s IMAX version, on the other hand, didn’t hit until yesterday — a full two weeks after the film’s debut. Sure, there are die-hard fans who will see it again, but does that mean they got gipped the first time around?

This year, the third dimension made its debut at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival with Disney’s ‘Up,’ but some, including the folks over at Den of Geek, think the medium is still misused. More of an afterthought meant to generate buzz than a genuinely new type of filmmaking. But maybe not for long. They predict that megadirector James Cameron’s ‘Avatar,’ out this December, has the power to revolutionize the concept of 3-D movie. What do you think?

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