As Jurassic World Dominion chomps its way through the summer box office, ticket sales may indicate a return to 3D. The Jurassic World franchise made a strong return to the box office this year with a $143 million domestic debut. Despite receiving lukewarm reviews from critics, Jurassic World Dominion appears to be receiving a warmer reception from audiences with an A- on Cinemacore and a 79% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
According to Variety, premium formats, which include 3D and Imax showings, accounted for 25% of Jurassic World Dominion's worldwide box office. Despite losing popularity over the years, these numbers could indicate that 3D may still have some legroom at the box office.
The release of Avatar in 2009 popularized the application of stereoscopic 3D in film. Critics and audiences praised it for its immersive and innovative use of 3D during its initial theatrical run. While some may have considered it a gimmick, the James Cameron epic proved to be popular by becoming the highest-grossing film of all time, the first to surpass $2 billion at the worldwide box office.
Film studios took note of Avatar's success and began to quickly capitalize off of 3D. Almost every big blockbuster released after Avatar would be advertised post-converted to 3D to little effectiveness, the most notable example being Clash of the Titans which was released only four months after Avatar. While several films received recognition and acclaim for their use of the technology such as Life of Pi and Gravity, many were seen as nothing more than a quick cash grab. Due to the poor application of the technology in many blockbusters, audiences began to lose interest in 3D as ticket sales for the medium continued to drop over the years.
However, with the box office numbers of Dominion tallying up 25% in 3D ticket sales, audiences may be having a new interest in the medium once again. After 13 years, Cameron will finally return audiences back to the world of Pandora with Avatar: The Way of Water on December 16 which will apply the same 3D filmmaking that he popularized in 2009. The original Avatar film will also be re-releasing again in theaters on Sept. 23 with remastered picture and sound that will give audiences the chance to re-experience the film in its native format. As more films get released later this year, the clearer the future of 3D will be.
Jurassic World Dominion is now playing exclusively in theaters.