Over 200 Blu-ray 3D movies like The Amazing Spider-Man and Brave entered the home entertainment market in 2012 as Hollywood continues to bring home the big 3D blockbusters.
With the consumer electronics industry gathering in Las Vegas with the next generation of 4K and 3D technology, Hollywood is churning out more 3D movies and bringing them home. The total number of Blu-ray 3D (BD 3D) in the U.S. has grown by more than a factor of five within two short years since the format debuted in 2010. At the end of 2012, some 200 BD 3D titles were available for purchase in the United States, up from 37 in 2010 and 108 in 2011, according to a recent HIS ScreenDigest Video Intelligence Report from information and analytics provider IHS. In 2012 alone, 92 titles were added to the roster, compared to 71 in 2011, as shown in the figure attached.
Releases from the Hollywood majors still outnumber independent films as a whole over the last two years, at a rate of 111 to 89. However, that ratio reversed this year with more indie titles coming out on BD 3D than big-studio releases.
“Early in the life of the format, the slate for BD 3D video introductions closely followed the theatrical 3D schedule, focusing on new-release 3D movies,” said Tony Gunnarsson, analyst for video at IHS. “At the same time, the early home-video 3D lineup was biased toward animation and documentaries. But more recently, the format has seen a substantial increase in live-action 3D movies across all genres, including action, adventure, horror, family, music, sci-fi, drama and comedy. Non-movie titles have also been made available, covering both the documentary and erotic film categories. These developments have massively expanded the number BD 3D titles available to U.S. consumers.”
