So “Jackass-3D” has been out for less than a week now and has already broken the record for highest-grossing opening weekend for a fall quarter film. We all know that James Cameron’s 3D smash “Avatar” remains at #1 for the highest grossing film of all time, and this new installment of the “Jackass” series seems to be riding that 3D wave more than anything. Now, that’s not to say that the movie isn’t great (I don’t know—I haven’t seen it) but I doubt the documentary-style, cultish flick would have done so well had it been a conventional 2D theatrical release.
Obviously piracy has taken its hit on the entertainment industry, but no one’s giving up without a fight. The music industry is cranking out live shows and festivals in order to rake in the cash that it’s losing to LimeWire and the like; clearly the movie industry won’t be losing its mojo any time soon either. Some say 3D may just be a fad, but for now, this “fad” is continuing to break records left and right. Moreover, 3D movies are breaking the records of their own 2D counterparts that existed before the age of file-sharing. Toy Story 3D, for example, has grossed more than 13 times the amount that the first installment did, which was fairly innovative itself back in 1995 (before the Internet was ubiquitous and CERTAINLY before web-based piracy was an issue).
Even if 3D is a fad, isn’t that what the entertainment industry is all about? Color TV used to make people shit their pants. Now we watch it on our iPhones without blinking an eye. This isn’t to say that the sneaky pirates won’t find a way to share it for free some day, but for now, it’s making a hell of a lot of money. If something is broken, fix it, right? Well the traditional movie model is breaking, and 3D movies are trying it mend it. Whether they have potential for financial longevity or not, they’re working as a pretty awesome bandage for the moment.
Piracy frustrates a lot of people who care about entertainment. It frustrates me to no end on some days, but nothing short of an Internet shutdown or a time-machine are going to eradicate it from cyberspace, so industry changes like 3D movies and increased tour dates are just what the doctor ordered. When the CD gave way to the iPod, sites like iTunes were created to reap the benefits of MP3 popularity. The entertainment industry should be no stranger to these technological shifts, and while piracy is a daunting one, they need to bounce back and fight hard. To win a battle you must play to your opponent’s weakness, and broke college kids in their dorm rooms don’t have 3D laptops, nor do software hackers in China. It is technology that put entertainment through this mess in the first place, but perhaps it is also technology that will get them out of it.
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