Well, it seems that Universal’s strategy for releasing Jason Bourne in the China entailed stacking the vast majority of its showings with the 3D version of the film – which, as you probably surmised by now, is making people sick. In Beijing, just eight of the city’s 149 theatres are offering 2D screenings of Bourne.
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Both the 3D and 2D versions of the Jason Bourne movie initially did well in China, and it raked in approximately $12 million when it premiered in China on Tuesday, The Hollywood Reporter notes.
The Universal Pictures China branch on Wednesday posted a notice on its official Sina Weibo account, saying the company is working on adding more screenings for the 2D version.
Top total grossing film across the gross this week is The Secret Life of Pets, still riding high at number 4 it has grossed $724.4 million. That’s how Universal released the movie in China and other Asian markets, where most theaters are equipped to deliver 3D content, and where moviegoers prefer 3D movies. Not only do 3D screenings let theaters charge more, thus driving up the gross, they’re harder to pirate.
That raises a good question: Why doesn’t everybody in China just watch the movie in 2D? One critic revealed to the paper that theaters capable of playing the 3D version were not given the option by distributors of playing the 2D version.
“The 3D version is often encouraged in China as the country considers it a technological advancement”. Not for you and me, but for many people it’s the only way to watch it. “But it’s often exploited”, Shi Wenxue added. 3D only magnifies the motion sickness effect, so now even people who could usually handle the Bourne movies are feeling under the weather.
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Why not watch in 2D? As of Thursday, the flick had brought in about $US25 ($33)-million in China. My wife is actually one of them, so I’ve seen this first hand, and thus am always on the lookout for 2D screenings to take her to. With the case of the Chinese version, the second process has been undertaken.
