As we launched our new Kickstarter for "Carnival of Souls" I thought I'd check out where things were at this year in terms of 3D Blu-ray releases... and although I knew things were quiet I hadn't realised quite how quiet it was in 3D Blu-rayville... the tumbleweed is blowin' in the wind there.
The fantastic news is there were more 3D Blu-rays released this year (2024) than last (2023) - in fact nearly double - delve deeper though and you'll find if it wasn't for Variety Films and EYEPOP-3D/PLAN-D there would in fact only be FOUR NEW 3D BLU-RAY RELEASES!
3D Blu-rays Released in 2024
So based purely on blu-ray.com listings there has been, or will be, the following 27 3D Blu-rays released in 2024*. (I may have missed something and of course numbers/details/dates change but hopefully you get the point being made).
JANUARY
Charlie Victor Romeo (NEW)
MARCH
White Zombie (Indie)
Robot vs Aztec Mummy (Indie)
Dredd (Re-release)
Saw Box Set (Re-release)
I Love Lucy (Withdrawn?)
APRIL
Electric Man (Indie)
JUNE
Last Man on Earth (Indie)
JULY
Horror Express (Indie)
The Brain that Wouldn't Die (Indie)
The Devil's Hand (Indie)
Conversion Curiosities Vol 01 (Indie)
FREE-D-ONE (Indie)
Jaws 3D (Re-release)
Anselm (NEW)
Bwana Devil (NEW)
AUGUST
Frankenstein's Daughter (Indie)
Gammera (Indie)
Chaos (Indie)
Variety Tech Today - The Complete Fifth Season (Indie)
Texas Chainsaw (Re-release)
SEPTEMBER
His Girl Friday (Indie)
Father's Little Dividend (Indie)
3D Double Feature: Connecticut Seasons - Haul of Fame (Indie)
Universal Classic Monsters (Re-release)
DECEMBER
Magnificent Bodyguards (NEW)
If we were to remove the re-releases and the indie output from the list we're left with 4 new 3D blu-rays. And ironically of course 3 of the 4 are actually historic titles with only Anselm as an actually new 3D film.
Charlie Victor Romeo (NEW)
Anselm (NEW)
Bwana Devil (NEW)
Magnificent Bodyguards (NEW)
2025 and Beyond
With Turbine coming into the market it does mean there will be an uplift, presumably if not late 2024 then sometime in 2025, and we know that 3D Film Archive have a good number of restorations in the works.
Scarily though this still paints a picture of a market where the major studios have completely departed and it's purely enthusiastic independents like us and film historians like 3DFA (who are on a mission to restore and release all the 3D classics) that are keeping it going.
I'd love nothing more than to be in the position to negotiate deals to convert some of the classic films we all love into 3D but we have to be selling in the thousands, or tens of thousands, or more to be able to afford that level of licensing fee - the only film I have commercially licenced so far is now ready for release, but in all likelihood this will make a loss due to the license fee on top of production/fulfilment costs (even though in movie business terms the license fee was tiny).
But let's not despair. Let's all keep our fingers crossed that interest in our particular dimensional passion takes a turn for the better in the coming months and years - if only everyone could see 3D the way we do!
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