3D and Film

In the late 1890s, British film pioneer William Friese-Greene filed a patent for a 3-D movie process.
Two 30-minute Nazi propaganda films shot in 3D in Germany in 1936 were found in Berlin’s Federal Archives in 2011. By 2004, 54% (133 theaters of 248) of the IMAX community was 3D-capable.

3D film has resurged a number of times over the past 100 years; in 1952–1955, 1960, 1985 and 2009.

2011 has shown a considerable decline in audience interest in 3-D presentation. For instance, only 45% of the premiere weekend box office earnings of Kung Fu Panda 2 came from screenings in the 3D presentation format as opposed to 60% for Shrek Forever After in 2010.

A major criticism of 3D is that many of the movies in the 21st century to date were not filmed in 3D, but converted after filming. Filmmakers who have criticized this process include James Cameron, whose film Avatar was created in 3D from the ground up and is largely credited with the revival of 3-D.

Director Christopher Nolan has criticised the notion that traditional film does not allow depth perception, saying "I think it's a misnomer to call it 3D versus 2D. The whole point of cinematic imagery is it's three dimensional... You know 95% of our depth cues come from occlusion, resolution, color and so forth, so the idea of calling a 2D movie a '2D movie' is a little misleading."

Some films, like "Piranha 3D" have been accused of being made specifically to cash in on the hype around 3D.

Four of the biggest box-office films (Beauty and the Beast, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Titanic and Finding Nemo) will all be re-released in 3-D in 2012.