This weekend Monster House opened on 3,553 screens, taking in an average $6,473 per screen. Of those theaters, 163 screens showed the film in digital 3-D, and those screens averaged $16,012 each. This gross exceeded industry expectations.
One reason for the surprising gross -- Monster House is a surprisingly fun movie. Unlike recent past attempts to show 3D films in non-IMAX cinemas, Spy Kids 3-D, Chicken Little, and Sharkboy and Lavagirl, Monster House is funny, engaging, and looks fantastic in 3D. It is truly immersive, as the glasses are plastic and comfortable, and the circular polarized process means you can tilt your head without losing the 3D effect. That's right, none of those red/blue, headache inducing, cardboard pieces of crap.
It's well worth hunting down a theater near you showing the film in 3D to check it out. Even more exciting for fans of stereoscopic movies -- they ran 3D trailers for Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas 3D (October) and Meet the Robinson's (March, 2007).
On July 28, Warner Brothers' The Ant Bully opens on IMAX screens in 3D, and September 29 brings Open Season in IMAX 3D as well. James Cameron, George Lucas, and Robert Rodriguez are a few of the major filmmakers who believe digital 3D is the best way to put butts in seats and get people away from the home theaters. Based on the reaction of the audience I saw Monster House 3D with, they might be on to something.
Stumble This
Reddit!
I went to see Monster House in 3D this weekend, with my boyfriend. We both liked the movie but had one complaint.
Both of us being wearers of perscription glasses, couldn't comfortably wear the 3D glasses and I think the effect wasn't as good because the 3D ones were further from our eyes than they were supposed to be. We both felt that designers of 3D glasses should consider the glasses wearing public.
I took my boys (4 & 6) to see Monster House at the weekend, but not at 3D. Scared the hell out of them at times, and they loved every minute. In an overly sanitized world where everyone protects children way too much, it was nice to take them to a movie that made them crap their pants while still being a kids movie.