3D movies already cost as much as $5 more per ticket but clearly, the movie industry still just isn’t making enough money off them. How can they squeeze even more money out of 3D-going audiences? Easy. 3D commercials!
THR says 3D commercials are the next big thing. In fact, they’re already running in some areas. Some of you may have seen a 3D Samsung commercial before How to Train Your Dragon last weekend. It’s just the first in a wave of 3D advertising headed straight to your local megaplex where you’ll be rewarded for your decision to pay more for a ticket even though you could have seen the movie cheaper, by being asked to buy things before you’re allowed to enjoy the movie you’ve already paid to see.
Really, there’s no reason for outrage here. Commercials before movies are already pretty commonplace in many movie theaters and we’ve all just decided to put up with it. Just like, apparently, we’ve all decided to put up with outrageously higher ticket prices, teenagers with cell phones, and all the other horrible things that happen at movie theaters which don’t seem to keep anyone away from them. And since commercials are already happening, does it really matter if they’re now in 3D? Not really.
This news is significant not because it represents yet another way to rape consumers, but because it represents yet another nail in the coffin of 2D movies. Now that advertisers are jumping on the bandwagon, money is really pouring into the 3D format, the kind of money that doesn’t really depend on people actually choosing to buy a 3D ticket. I know a lot of you are still hoping this 3D thing is a fad, but it isn’t. Whether we like it or not 3D is here to stay and in the months ahead, sure to become even more commonplace, taking up even more would-be 3D screens and forcing more and more audiences to pay extra for funny glasses whether they want them or not.
On the bright side here, at least now when you buy a 3D ticket you’re guaranteed to see something which actually takes advantage of the format. The most perfectly done 3D moment of my Clash of the Titans screening for instance, was the theater logo ad before the film. So even if your movie is a shoddy, poorly done, 3D cash-in which really doesn’t do anything with the technology, odds are the 3D commercials you’ll see before it will. Thanks Samsung!
