I have my own 3D glasses because a friend of mine gave me a snazzy pair of the Oakley 3D glasses for Christmas last year. I love owning my own pair, primarily because they are more comfortable, but also because I know I am the only one that has worn them.
Those horn-rimmed things they give out at screenings are a nightmare on the bridge of my nose and I doubt I am alone on this. Every now and then I forget mine and am reminded of just what exactly moviegoers are dealing with when they sit through a 3D film. But that may all be changing. In the coming years… you may have to buy your own.
The Hollywood Reporter brings word that beginning in May 2012 Sony will be the first studio to come out and say they will no longer be footing the bill for 3D glasses. This is the same month the studio will release Men in Black III in 3D and two months before the release of The Amazing Spider-Man. The Hollywood Reporter says 3D glasses can cost studios $5 million to $10 million per blockbuster release and for smaller films can cost $1.5 million to $2 million.
To this point exhibitors have been spending money left and right to upgrade their theaters for digital and 3D presentations and adding the cost of glasses is one more expense they are unlikely to want to take on. This is why studios are in favor of what THR refers to as an “ownership model”, which is to say exhibitors will begin selling glasses to the consumer, which they could keep and use as long as they own them. This means more money for the exhibitor, more money for the studio and, of course, less money for you… the consumer.
3D seems to have created a never-ending way of price gouging the audience, first it was the upcharge and now they’re going to force you to buy your own glasses. At what point does the “pass the expense off to the customer” end? On top of that, I know how frustrated I am when I forget to bring my glasses to the theater and have to use the free ones. Just think how frustrating it will be if not only do you forget the glasses you already bought, but you have to spend more, on top of inflated 3D ticket prices, just to watch a film in 3D. My prediction is for very few happy customers.
The Hollywood Reporter says such a system is already in place in the U.K., Australia, Italy and Spain and while Fox has apparently already tried such a maneuver, they were reportedly met “with stiff resistance from exhibitors.”
My question to you is to ask if you would happily pay for your own pair of 3D glasses or if this is just one more detail that will keep you away from 3D screenings?
