10 Bandwagons Hollywood Couldn't Resist Jumping On

3. Converting Everything Into 3D

Damn that James Cameron. After the director's decade-in-development sci-fi epic Avatar became the highest-grossing movie in history thanks largely to its groundbreaking use of 3D, the studios realized that if their movies were also released in the third dimension then they could charge a couple of extra bucks for tickets and see their profits increase, often dramatically. Since Avatar, nearly every major studio release has come with the addition of 3D with the number of shoddy post-conversion jobs far outweighing the effective use of the format. Studio executives must have been salivating when Alice in Wonderland and Clash of the Titans cashed in on the post-Avatar 3D boom to earn $1.025bn and $493m at the box office respectively, with the latter in particular featuring one of the worst post-conversions you're ever likely to see. While respected auteurs like Ang Lee (Life of Pi) and Martin Scorsese (Hugo) have made great use of shooting in native 3D, it seems that most big-budget movies simply see post-conversion as a way to convince audiences to part with a little extra of their hard-earned cash, although animated movies tend to make much better use of the format than live action these days. Even though the percentage of ticket sales for 3D showings of movies has steadily declined, the trend shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon as the sheer volume of 3D projectors now installed in theaters across the world makes it a continually viable option for the studios. It seems strange to think that ten years ago 3D virtually a laughing stock until the director of Avatar once again changed the face of the industry. Not on purpose though, because as South Park famously said; James Cameron doesn't do what James Cameron does for James Cameron. James Cameron does what James Cameron does because James Cameron is James Cameron!