Number of digital 3D cinema screens worldwide 2008-2021, by region

In 2021, there were more than 84 thousand digital 3D cinema screens in the Asia Pacific, making this region alone account for about two-thirds of all screens of that type worldwide. Europe, the Middle East, and Africa – collectively known as EMEA – had 21.3 thousand digital 3D screens or approximately 17 percent of the global figure.

Digital cinema

Digital cinema refers to the use of digital technology to shoot and project movies, as opposed to the traditional method of using film reels. In 2020, the worldwide number of digital screens surpassed 200 thousand, up from 35 thousand a decade earlier. With digital recording and projecting technology becoming more commonplace in the movie industry, this upward trend is likely to continue, resulting in the ongoing replacement of analog movie screens.

3D cinema in the U.S. and Canada

In 2009, James Cameron's "Avatar" revolutionized 3D cinema around the world. The science fiction film is among the highest-grossing 3D movies of all time in the so-called North American market, which comprehends Canada and the United States (including the unincorporated territories of Guam and Puerto Rico). The movie ranked third after "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" (2015) and "Avengers: Endgame" (2019). Despite the commercial success of these productions, the number of 3D titles released in the U.S. and Canada has dropped since 2017.