In the early 1950s, 3-D stereoscopic motion pictures proved to be highly profitable ventures for the theater owners who exhibited them. Enormously popular cinematic classics like The House of Wax, 3-D (1953), The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), Kiss Me, Kate (1953), and others, proved the 3-D format could be both popular and profitable. 

These films were produced with dual cameras and shown with dual projection systems in the "stereoscopic 3-D" format mentioned above. These three dimensional movies did extremely well at the box office on a "per screen" basis. However, in order to exhibit a 3-D movie, expensive motion picture screens costing many thousands of dollars had to replace the theater's regular screens, and an elaborate 3-D projection system had to be installed in each movie house at significant expense to the theater owner. Because of these costs, only a small percentage of cinemas ever converted to stereoscopic 3-D, causing the 3-D classics of the 1950s to become relics of the past.

Up until recently, virtually the only way the public was able to see stereoscopic 3-D was at specially-equipped venues such as IMAX theaters, Las Vegas attractions, and large theme parks such as Universal and Disneyland.

Until the 1990s, there were few stereoscopic 3-D feature-length movies produced. Although 3-D features had done very well on a "per screen" basis, most of them did relatively little business worldwide due to the small number of stereoscopically-equipped theaters. This situation began to change dramatically when IMAX began installing stereoscopic 3-D equipment into their giant screen theaters, making it possible for IMAX to play stereoscopic 3-D films. However, the 3-D stereoscopic movies produced for the IMAX theaters were usually documentaries and docudramas running between 40 and 50 minutes. 

The major studios and production companies that release feature films have become increasingly alarmed by rapidly decreasing box office revenues during recent years. Many in the motion picture business believe that a sure way to attract audiences back to the theaters is by producing and releasing 3-D motion pictures. This conviction is based on the phenomenal success of recent movies such as IMAX Polar Express in 3-D and Spy Kids, 3-D.