Sony won't be paying for movie theater 3D glasses as of May 1, 2012

Many will argue that 3D movies are already facing challenges. Going to see the newest movie in 3D may become even more problematic and expensive if Sony sticks by their guns. Sony Pictures Entertainment has decided that effective May 1, 2012 it will no longer pay for theaters to supply 3D glasses to movie goers.

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The news came in a letter Sony Pictures Entertainment sent to theater owners notifying them of the change in policy.

"This is an issue that has to be resolved between us and our exhibition partners. We are trying to give them a very lengthy lead time in regards to the change in policy," said Rory Bruer, Sony worldwide president of distribution.

It turns out these exhibition partners aren't likely to be thrilled by this change. They are already already frustrated by how much money they have had to cough up in order to enable their projection equipment and screens to support 3D films.

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The glasses used in theaters aren't cheap and often cost studios between $5 million and $10 million per large release. Simply shifting that cost onto theater owners is likely to mean an immediate impact to the consumer. That means 3D movies would become even more expensive to see and the already struggling format would be facing even bigger issues. The glasses for smaller movies could run between $1.5 million and $2 million per film.

What Sony wants is to see the U.S. market move to a model where the consumer pays for the glasses at the theater. Other countries like the U.K., Australia, Italy and Spain already have this model in place. The problem with switching over to this model in the U.S. is that consumers are already used to the model where the glasses are included it the overall 3D markup they pay. To add an additional fee on top of the $3-$4 more they are already paying to see a film in 3D is likely to have an impact on whether consumers choose to see a film in 3D over 2D.

In the U.S. there are often recycling bins for the 3D glasses outside of theaters. Consumers can also take the glasses home with them. In theory under this new model the consumer could pay for one set of glasses and then continue to bring them to the theater for each additional 3D movie they saw. The problem with this is it requires the person to remember their glasses for the next movie and it requires that the technology being used is the same from film to film. Most 3D glasses are supplied by RealD but there are systems that employ the Dolby technology.

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Members of the National Association of Theater Owners voiced their feelings over this new policy calling it "insensitive" to moviegoers. Sony spokesperson Steve Elzer immediately responded to that statement saying,

"NATO’s statement that it has been 'understood' that distributors would always bear the cost of 3D glasses is incorrect, because there never has been any such agreement. In fact, we have been speaking with people in the industry for a long time about the need to move to a new model, so this certainly comes as a surprise to no one in the business."

Elzer continued,

"We invite theater owners to engage in a collegial dialogue with us about this issue, including at ShowEast next month.  By working together on a business-to-business basis, we are confident a reasonable solution can be reached that brings benefits to consumers, the entertainment industry and the environment."

If Sony stands by this new model other studios are likely to quickly follow. If you had to pay for the 3D glasses in addition to the 3D markup already in place would you stop seeing 3D movies? Do you even bother to see a 3D film in the theater now? Let us know in the comments.

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