Avatar: Fire and Ash is almost here, and while it remains to be seen if the film will make the massive piles of cash it needs to make to be considered successful, it will likely still make a lot of money, and much of that will come from the additional cost of tickets sold in 3D.
James Cameron is a major supporter of 3D technology in cinema, and he recently claimed that one of the major reasons it hasn’t seen more mainstream adoption is due to it frequently not being presented at its best in theaters. Cameron obviously wants Avatar: Fire and Ash to be presented as well as it can be, which has resulted in him sending a letter (reprinted on Twitter) to theaters around the country, asking them to review the projection specifications for the film so that it can be seen and heard at its best. Check out the full letter below.
Cameron calls theaters “critically important” to the presentation of Avatar: Fire and Ash, as ultimately, how any individual experiences the film depends on the theater in which they see it. Two people can have radically different opinions on a film that are greatly influenced by its presentation.
I recently learned firsthand just how important this is. I was able to attend an early screening of Avatar: Fire and Ash, and during about the first 20 minutes of the film, the 3D was completely non-functional. The issue was addressed, and the rest of the movie went just fine. Somebody who pays a not insignificant amount of money for a 3D movie ticket is going to be quite upset if they have similar issues this weekend.
It’s a safe bet that a lot of people buying 3D movie tickets this weekend haven’t bought one since Avatar: The Way of Water was released. This is, in large part, because the number of movies released in 3D is way down from where it was a few years ago. However, the general reputation of the format isn’t that positive. Most movies released that way today are done as post-production conversion, a process that is generally understood to create a less desirable end product than filming the movies in 3D, as Cameron has always done with Avatar.
James Cameron has been managing expectations in recent weeks, seemingly indicating that he’s far from sure he’ll be going back to New Zealand to shoot two more Avatar movies as had been the plan. If that doesn’t happen, then it’s possible that Fire and Ash could be one of the last major 3D releases we ever see. If that’s the case, hopefully theaters will make sure it looks amazing.
