RealD reacts to America’s 3D slow-down

EXCLUSIVE: RealD look to international markets for growth and admit to US slow-down, suggesting animated family friendly films may not be the best fit for 3D

When asked if the US market had stagnated, RealD recognised their home market is not progressing as fast as it once did but other international markets are keeping demand for RealD products strong… “The US market grew its 3D install base quickly so many major exhibitors are slowing the install rate of newly equipped screens as they are comfortable with their 40-50% of screens per location equipped with 3D” said a RealD representative “But international growth in territories like China, Russia and Latin America is accelerating to meet moviegoer demand. Importantly, every market should be viewed on its own accord given films perform differently in each territory around the world.  In the US market we see films released in 3D average about 40-60% of their box office from 3D.  This number has been higher in markets like Europe and China.  But every film is its own scenario.  An example would be the 3D re-release of Titanic which did multiple times the total box office internationally as it did in the US and was a breakout hit in China".

RealD also believe there is still potential in non-entertainment applications such as the military, NASA and Fortune 500 companies who they have a long history working with and these sectors "look forward to continuing to use innovation to deliver the best possible visual experience". 

The most negative news for the 3D industry this year has been the poor results for the 3D screenings of the Disney animation 'Brave' which only achieved 32% in 3D box office sales but RealD have attributed the poor performance to a growing sensitivity to family friendly animated films. A RealD representative told us "We see films ultimately performing in the range of 40-60% of box office in 3D.  That includes some markets performing better in 3D for a particular movie than others, like Titanic 3D performed well above other markets during its run in China.  The percentage also changes based on the type of movie with tentpole action/adventure films performing at the higher end of the scale and some animated family films performing toward the lower end.  This has been consistent for some time as we see more sensitivity with family films".

For more information about RealD visit the RealD website.

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