10 Times Hollywood Learned The Wrong Lesson From Movies

Avatar certainly wasn't the first movie released during the late-aughts 3D boom, but it is the one that put the technology firmly back on the map, with the technical mastery of James Cameron's phenomenally successful blockbuster proving to be the perfect demo for 3D's jaw-dropping potential.

And so in the years that followed, a large number of blockbuster films were released in 3D, yet precious few were actually natively shot in the format and meticulously engineered for a 3D presentation like Avatar. Instead, studios decided to cash-in on the higher ticket prices of 3D by hastily and cheaply converting their movies to 3D in post-production, which often resulted in a flat, scarcely dimensional image that failed to justify its asking price.

There were certainly other great 3D movies released after Avatar - How to Train Your Dragon, for one - but far too many simply jumped on the gimmicky bandwagon without spending the time and money to deliver a quality experience.

And unsurprisingly, it was James Cameron who ended up delivering the most worthwhile 3D presentation since Avatar with last year's sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water. Yet unlike its predecessor, it doesn't seem to have sparked another wave of me-too 3D releases en masse, suggesting the cash cow has more-or-less been milked dry, outside of the most special of engagements.

For many moviegoers, they won't feel compelled to put on a pair of 3D glasses again until Avatar 3.