By Patrick Shanley
Managing Editor
While more and more blockbusters are being released in 3D, the medium has not necessarily translated into Oscar night success stories. While the glasses may sometimes be uncomfortable for theater-goers, the immersive quality that 3D provides makes it a big money maker for CGI-heavy films and big summer releases.
Oscar, on the other hand, has historically preferred more traditional visuals, i.e. the 2D variety. Only six films that have received wide releases in 3D have been nominated for best picture in Academy history, and none have won. Director Robert Zemeckis is hoping that his latest film, The Walk, which was released this Wednesday, will become the seventh 3D film to earn a nomination and finally take home the big prize.
Here’s a look at the last six films widely released in 3D that were nominated for best picture at the Academy Awards:
Avatar (2009): Director James Cameron may have scored the highest grossing film of all time with his epic about ecological conflict on the distant world of Pandora, but the Na’vi were unable to take home the best pic Oscar. To add insult to injury, Cameron lost the best director category to ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow, whose Iraq war film, The Hurt Locker, also won best picture that year. Avatar did, however, earn nine nominations and went home with three statues (best cinematography, best visual effect, best art direction).
Up (2009): Pixar’s animated story about an elderly man (voiced by Ed Asner) who flies his house to South America by tying thousands of balloons to it, became not only the second 3D film to earn a best picture nomination, but also one of the only PG-rated films in Oscar history to accomplish that feat. It won two Oscars (best original score, best animated feature) but also lost out to Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker for best pic.
Toy Story 3 (2010): The very next year Pixar returned to the Oscars with the third installment in the Toy Story franchise. Just like the previous year, the film won two awards (best original score, best animated feature) but ultimately lost out on best picture to The King’s Speech.
Hugo (2011): Director Martin Scorsese released his first family feature and his first 3D film with this story of a young orphan (Asa Butterfield) living in a Paris train station in the 1930’s. The film was nominated for 11 Oscars, winning five, but lost out on best picture to The Artist.
Life of Pi (2012): This adaptation of author Yann Martel‘s novel about a young man lost at sea on a lifeboat with a tiger after a shipwreck earned director Ang Lee his second best director Oscar. However, the 3D visuals were not enough to beat out Argo for best picture.
Gravity (2013): Director Alfonso Cuarón won the Oscar for best director for his stunning portrayal of astronauts caught in a perilous disaster on the Hubble Space Telescope. The film won seven Academy Awards and was nominated for ten altogether, but it could not best 12 Years a Slave for best picture.
