Worldwide 3D Box Office Roars to Life with Jurassic World

Most U.S. Moviegoers Saw 2D Version, but 3D Dominates Internationally

3D is alive and well in international markets, with Jurassic World earning about 65 percent of its box-office take outside the U.S. from 3D screenings, according to RealD, which provides its RealD Cinema Systems and 3D glasses to movie theaters worldwide.

Jurassic World earned $205 million of the film's total estimated $315.8 million gross outside the U.S. in 3D theaters, RealD said today. The top 3D markets included China, Germany, Russia, Brazil, and Colombia.

As usual, the 3D numbers were more muted inside the U.S., where Real3D said about 48 percent of the total box-office take came from 3D theaters. 

"Jurassic World's dino-sized debut is another strong indication that moviegoers want excellent 3D experiences and the studios are providing the best 3D offerings in years … maybe ever," said RealD President of Worldwide Cinema Anthony Marcoly in a prepared statement. "2015 will be remembered as a watershed year for this format with one of the strongest 3D slates we have ever seen."

According to the MPAA, the North American 3D box-office peaked in 2010, when 3D screenings of the 26 films released in 3D that year generated $2.2 billion, or about 21 percent of the total box office. By 2014, that number had dropped to $1.4 billion, representing just 13% of overall revenue. Making matters worse, the number of 3D releases had never been higher, with no fewer than 47 films sharing the smaller pie. (Those figures were compiled for the MPAA's Theatrical Market Statistics 2014 report.) It remains to be seen whether Jurassic World's performance is part of a reinvigorating trend at the 3D box office.

Jurassic World was originally planned as a native 3D shoot, but Universal changed plans and shot it flat with film cameras on a mix of 35mm and 65mm formats. If nothing else, the film's box-office returns prove that 2D-to-3D conversion is no limiting factor at the box office.