3D movies fall out of favour as ticket sales drop by a third

Once you get over the initial shock of something reaching out of the screen towards you, it adds nothing at all to a film. You soon forget it is there at all,’ he said.

Skyfall was the biggest movie of 2012, taking over £100m at the box office – despite not being in 3D (Picture: Sony)

‘People said 3D would change cinema. But if it stops paying its way at the box office, it is just a waste of money.

‘I’m sure people will keep on making 3D films. These things come and go. But you can’t make up for bad directing with good technology.’

As well as inflated ticket prices on 3D, compared to 2D, in cinemas, the popularity of certain traditional movies in 2012 has also been cited as a factor in falling ticket sales.

Neither of 2012′s two biggest films – Skyfall and The Dark Knight Rises – were released in 3D, yet pulled in huge grosses at the box office, with the former becoming the first film ever to pass the £100m mark in the UK.

The biggest 3D film of 2012 was The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which grossed £52.3m – with Avengers Assemble, Ice Age: Continental Drift, The Amazing Spider-Man and Prometheus completing