James Cameron’s Avatar and 3D go hand in hand. So much of the movie’s buzz was due to the 3D gimmick and the big budget special effects that it worked so well with. Avatar truly became a must-see movie when it was released -- not just on the biggest screen possible but in as many dimensions as possible -- and it remains the highest-grossing film of all time worldwide some 10 years later. Indeed, it helped spur on a renewed interest in big-screen 3D at the time. And now there are four Avatar sequels on the way, with the first slated for release in 2020.

Loading

Theatrical Declines

Loading

3D at Home... and 4D in Theaters

The Weirdest Oscar Nominations Ever 13 IMAGES

Loading

Loading

Avatar to the Rescue?

Loading

Except Cameron and 20th Century Fox (the studio behind the films) are facing a new world. The hype for 3D upon Avatar’s release in 2009 is long gone in most markets. So the question is whether or not the big, blue alien cats of Pandora can help make 3D movies relevant again.There were Super Bowl commercials in 3D in 2009. Sony made an E3 crowd put on 3D glasses to watch a Killzone 3 presentation in 2010. Nintendo released the 3DS in 2011, which is the same year that The Lion King had a 3D re-release that grossed over $185 million at the global box office. 2012 saw a 3D re-release of Cameron’s Titanic pull in over $300 million worldwide. But by 2017, Cameron’s 3D re-release of Terminator 2 only made about $4 million worldwide. Yes, the film played in far fewer theaters than those other two films, but the audience demand apparently just wasn't there for it to expand further. (Box office numbers are via Box Office Mojo .) According to the Motion Picture Association of America , 3D movie ticket sales saw a 41% decline in the USA and Canada in 2017 compared to 2010, the year that reaped most of Avatar’s box office receipts (the MPAA has not released an analysis of 2018’s numbers yet). 3D is clearly not what it once was, folks.Here are the last 10 years of 3D movie ticket sales in the US and Canada, according to the MPAA:Of course, studios have also been less inclined to produce 3D films these days in general. In 2016, 52 3D films were released, but that number dropped to 44 in 2017. An unscientific count of 2018 3D releases puts the number somewhere in the thirties. And there has been little growth of 3D screens in theaters recently. That includes IMAX's move away from 3D technology that began in 2017.Notably, this trend has been moving in the opposite direction in some international markets, particularly in the Asia Pacific region where the number of 3D theaters has grown rapidly. In China, this growth has corresponded with that of the country's increasingly important film market, though there are signs that 3D could be slowing down there as well.Movie studios continue to utilize 3D, but they appear to be the only ones. Did anybody even realize that TV manufacturers stopped making 3DTVs in 2017?Cameron spoke at a technology and innovation festival this past May about his Avatar saga and the state of 3D. He said his Avatar sequels will feature “the best 3D that’s possible to make.” As for what those developments might be, the filmmaker and innovator mentioned higher quality projectors and glasses-free 3D.He also said he has no idea when or if those changes will ever happen.“We need to see the roll out of these laser projection systems, so that we can fully appreciate 3D through glasses in cinemas. Then, we need the roll out of autostereoscopic screens… where you don’t need glasses at all,” Cameron said via VFXBlog . “Anybody that’s geeking out on 3D knows what I’m talking about. It’s all possible. It’s just a question of will it happen or not.”If the previously mentioned box office numbers are any indication, the group of people “geeking out on 3D” seems to be declining as the years go on. There’s the possibility of audiences completely losing interest before this new and improved technology is created.The declining interest in 3D could be due to the developments of 3D’s bulkier, pricier cousin VR, or its loud, smelly cousin that spits on you: 4D. The two formats seem to have replaced 3D at the buzziest intersection of the tech and entertainment worlds.VR has made serious moves with the release of more consumer-friendly sets like the Samsung Gear, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PlayStation VR, all of which were released from late 2015 to 2016 even as 3DTVs were being discontinued. And while these systems have plenty of great potential in the 3D forum, Hollywood isn’t jumping at the chance to integrate its 3D content into VR. For any ambitious VR user looking for 3D movies, and willing to break the law, most headsets require downloading an app and then downloading or streaming rips of 3D movies. There isn’t an official, easy-to-access store.PlayStation VR appears to be the most straightforward headset for watching a 3D movie, with the user buying a 3D Blu-ray and viewing the content on the PlayStation 4 while wearing the headset. Except 3D Blu-rays are fading away too, at least in America.Disney released almost no 3D Blu-rays for any of its 2017 or 2018 movies for domestic audiences (among the few exceptions were a Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 3D set that’s exclusive to Best Buy) while other studios only release some of their titles. For example, Universal avoided 3D Blu-rays for The Fate of the Furious and Despicable Me 3 domestically in 2017 but manufactured them for Pacific Rim: Uprising and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom in 2018.It’s also worth mentioning that even James Cameron never released his 3D conversion of Terminator 2 for home viewing in America. However, movies like Avengers: Infinity War, Despicable Me 3 and Terminator 2 received 3D Blu-rays in international territories. (Blu-ray discs that are “region free” will play in America and can easily be found for purchase online, however.) The trend of 3D's waning popularity on home media in North America is not reflected internationally.In April 2018, it was announced that 79 American theaters are intended to get the 4D treatment. That includes the $700,000 4D theater renovation in Jacksonville, FL, that now blasts consumers with “wind, rain, vibration, temperature changes, fog, lightning, snow and scents.” The first film shown in the theater was Bohemian Rhapsody, where one assumes the Live Aid scene had the theater temperature reach 95°F and the smells of weed and drunk, sweaty concertgoers fill the air. As 4D expands and 3D interest wanes, 4D could become a new novelty cinema experience that further diminishes 3D ticket sales.All of which brings us back to Avatar. A movie like 2013’s Gravity, also made by a high-profile, award-winning filmmaker (Alfonso Cuarón in this case), saw about 80% of its opening weekend audience in America select 3D showings, which tops the 72% for Avatar’s opening weekend. More recently, Avengers: Infinity War only saw 26% of its first weekend go to 3D.Domestic audiences are showing plenty of signs of being underwhelmed by the average Hollywood 3D offering. And yet, when there’s a sense that the 3D presentations were specifically designed around the context of the films themselves -- a Gravity or an Avatar, for example -- audiences are much more interested.Avatar’s first sequel, which is reportedly called Avatar: The Way of Water, is due for release in December, 2020. Cameron has said he won’t settle for anything but the most cutting-edge 3D technology, so if the 3D impresses audiences, it will be interesting to see how Hollywood reacts. Maybe there could be a step up in quality for 3D movies if sales and audience buzz around how Cameron uses the technology this time are strong.The whole format isn’t resting on one movie’s shoulders. The 3D for Avatar 2 could be great and nothing could change regardless; it would be a further sign that audiences are increasingly done with this format if the movie gets positive notices for its 3D presentation and nothing changes. Hollywood would likely continue to shrug off 3D and 3D innovation and ticket sales would continue to decrease.James Cameron has been pushing the boundaries of event cinema -- and science! -- throughout his career, from the morphing effects of T2 to the underwater photography of Titanic and his documentaries to the 3D tech he helped develop for Avatar and now its sequels. There’s no denying that the man is passionate about his work, and that passion often translates to successful, innovative and industry-changing films. And also to big box office. If anyone can revive 3D's popularity, it's him.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story had the wrong release year for Gravity. We regret the error.