How Disney Blockbusters Boost a Fizzling 3D Format

The struggling 3D movie market may have found an antidote to its continued downward slide — Disney. Earlier this year, the Motion Picture Association of America’s annual THEME report had plenty of good news from the 2018 box office, but not for the 3D glasses popularized by “Avatar” a decade ago. Global grosses for the format, according to the report, dropped 20% year-over-year to $6.7 billion, falling back to 2014 levels after three consecutive years above $8 billion. Also Read: Disney's 'The Lion King' Remake to Cross $1 Billion in Just 19 Days of Release Then “Avengers: Endgame” had its historic $1.2 billion opening weekend back in late April, bumping up 3D ticket sales as moviegoers flocked to theaters to watch Iron Man’s swan song. Marvel fans, excited to see how the Avengers would undo Thanos’ acts of evil, paid the premium 3D surcharge, which accounted for more than $1 billion of “Endgame”‘s record $2.79 billion global gross, with 53% of its global opening coming from the 3D format. Disney this year may become the first studio ever to gross $10 billion at the global box office in one year, with the all-time record holding “Endgame” leading a fleet of...