Cinemas Are Not Using 3D Movies to Rip Off Audiences

Ivan Radford attempts to rustle up controversy about ticket prices for 3D films (Cinema's Hidden Dimension: Riding the 3D Gravy Train). "It's the perfect formula for the future," he claims. "Beat piracy, appeal to the kids, and raise the prices."

Radford accepts that digitisation of the British cinema sector, now well underway, offers the potential benefit of "better picture quality" (the days of a film looking tired and scratched two weeks after release will become a thing of the past). But it also provides audiences with the opportunity to experience "alternative content" – live concerts, opera, theatre and sport as well as jaw-dropping 3D cinema – and such developments inevitably come at a cost.

The article claims that "the cost of a new digital projector is about £30,000": in fact a state-of-the-art digital cinema projector generally costs anything from £50,000 upwards, with the required upgrade to show 3D content a significant sum on top.

The observation that "we [the audience] are footing the bill for cinemas to upgrade", and that cinemas are "taking a cut" of the box office from 3D films implies that this is some kind of underhand move by cinema operators. The truth is that those companies which have sought to provide their audiences with the cutting-edge experience of digital 3D have, to date, met the bulk of these costs from their own pockets. It is the understandable desire to recoup this investment that underpins the uplift in ticket prices.

In this regard, cinemas are no different from other entertainment and leisure industries whose pricing policies reflect the additional costs of providing a premium service. Given that cinema prices averaged £5.18 last year, which the article acknowledges, and given the levels of investment involved, an average premium of £2 per ticket seems admirably modest.

Radford also points the finger at RealD – the leading provider of digital 3D in Britain – as the source of the increase in ticket prices. In truth, there are a number of competing systems, each with different costs and business models. This is no monopoly situation – such a competitive market benefits the customer now and will continue to do so.

And members of the public continue to vote with their feet. Even in a recession, cinema attendances continue to grow, with admissions for the first five months of this year 16% higher than for the same period in 2008, itself a strong year.

Digital 3D cinema is a key element of that story. The 3D films we see on our screens today are materially different – not just in terms of technology but also the calibre of the creative talent behind the camera – from those experienced by previous generations. Radford is certainly correct in his assertion that we "should not expect digital 3D cinema to go away anytime soon".

This month's opening of Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs shows every sign of repeating the pattern of each recent digital 3D film, where admissions have been at least double those of the more traditional presentation.

By Phil Clapp, chief executive of the Cinema Exhibitors' Association, The Guardian