the industry

Chinese Audiences Are Understandably Upset About Being Forced to Watch Jason Bourne in 3-D

Film Title: Jason Bourne
Jason Bourne. Photo: Jasin Boland/Universal Studios

Let’s talk about Jason Bourne — Chinese audiences hate it! According to THR, Hollywood tried a weird trick in an attempt to boost the overseas grosses of the fifth Bourne movie by releasing it as a special 3-D edition in Asian marketplaces. (The film was shot in 2-D, and released in that format in North America and Europe, also 3-D tickets in China cost twice what 2-D ones do.) Now, as anyone who’s seen a Bourne movie might have anticipated, that appears to have been a bad choice: Moviegoers in China are protesting the film, complaining the combination of 3-D and the film’s handheld cinematography left them feeling sick. According to a viral Weibo post, one screening saw “a line of people throwing up in the restroom.†Exacerbating the problem is the relative lack of 2-D screenings. The Global Times says only a tiny fraction of theaters in Beijing and Shanghai are offering non-3-D versions, and those are often on the outskirts of town, or only showing the film in non-peak hours. Universal claims it’s working to offer more 2-D screenings of the film and is also delaying its 3-D theatrical release of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman†video.

Chinese Audiences Upset About 3-D Jason Bourne