Does He-Man signal the end for 3-D movies?
Anybody care for a 3D movie anymore?
Avatar set the stage for the 3D craze's resurgence in 2009. Though there were a few movies we had seen in 3D earlier, watching Avatar was special - it exquisitely captured Pandora, the likes of which had not been done before, which led to Avatar becoming the blockbuster it is today.
Marvel took over from James Cameron and started making their movies in 3D, starting with Thor in 2011. Since then, almost all Marvel movies have been released in 3D. But if you have watched Avatar and a Marvel movie in the theatre, you would have noticed some difference. How can Avatar, which was released in 2009, look better than a Marvel movie launching much later? Answer: Native 3D
Native 3D is a technology where they actually shoot the movie in 3D with 2 cameras to capture the depth and richness. James Cameron perfected the digital RealD 3D format. On the other hand, Marvel movies are shot in 2D and are converted to 3D post-production, which is not the same thing.
A brief history of 3D movies
When would you guess was the first 3D movie screened? 1980, 90, 2000, 2009?
No - all wrong - 1922!
Yes, you read it right, 1922, with the movie “The Power of Love” in the silent era, nonetheless using red and green anaglyph glasses system. It was not very successful in 3D, and the technology largely lay forgotten with a few minor movies here and there. And then, in 1954, Alfred Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder, and Creature from the Black Lagoon were released, which were shot in 3D. Then horror movies took it over with Friday the 13th Part 3, Amityville 3D, which prompted one of the larger franchises, Jaws, to release Jaws 3-D in 1983, featuring the now iconic, shark swimming out of the screen experience. After this, again there was a cooling-off period with a few movies here and there, while animation movies took over using 3D until Avatar arrived in 2009!
Coming back to the present…
On June 5th, 2026, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe movie was released. Having been a fan of the older 80s cartoon, I was excited to watch it in the theatre. While I was trying to book the tickets, I was surprised to see there was no 3D option. I did a little digging and found it was not released in 3D at all!
To be honest, I was actually relieved.
I do not particularly enjoy putting on those 3D glasses over my actual glasses to watch a movie. Even after doing all that, you get to see 1 or maybe 2 scenes where things seem to pass by you, or that need a 3D effect. While it is fun the first few times, after, say, 28 times, it stops being that. It becomes normal or something you do not care about much. Because these movies are usually not even shot in native 3D, the depth effect is not that rich in any case.
Why was the He-Man movie not 3D?
It points to a worldwide trend of another cooling-off period, where people have officially lost interest in 3D movies. Yay! I am not alone. Second point being, shooting either in native 3D or adding 3D during post-production is a costly affair, shooting up the budget of a movie by a significant percentage, not to mention the overhead involved in the shoot or the conversion process. Studios avoid doing this unless they are really sure of the movie or have an unlimited budget (aka Marvel, maybe)! Looking at the box office performance of the He-Man movie looks like they were right in not wasting more money, as it seems like it may bomb at the box office.
For 3D fans, not to worry, the next Marvel movie is reported to still be released in 3D. So, you just need to hold on till the end of July to watch Spider-Man: Brand New Day in 3D!
Why is 3D dying?
My take - 3D is meant to make movies look more realistic and life-like. I mean, why? You watch movies to escape normal life - or to live a fantasy or watch a drama unfold. Why should it look like life?
Years ago, Samsung had showcased 3D TVs which could convert ordinary 2D content to show in 3D. It did not even fly in technology-forward countries like Korea and Japan, and has largely gone off the market.
Even though the technology has kept on improving looks like the audience does not care about it so much. It may need another boost like what Avatar did to keep 3D a mainstay. Let us wait and watch!