"Suicide Squad" Set to Open Big in 3D (But Where's "The Little Prince"?)

We might as well not beat around the bush: "Suicide Squad" is likely to open big this weekend.  Despite getting absolutely abysmal reviews, the hype for this thing is just too great to derail it this weekend.  It will open big, many theaters will be sold out, and we'll just have to wait until the second weekend to see if audiences actually enjoyed it enough to keep it around more for than a few weeks.  The vast majority of the screens will be presenting the film in 3D (as will almost all the IMAX's), so even if Warner Bros. don't mention it specifically, this movie is bound to be another hit for the format.  There is, however, another 3D movie opening this weekend, but finding a 3D presentation for it may require some detective work.  That movie is "The Little Prince," which was supposed to be released by Paramount Pictures in March, before they dumped the film and sold it to Netflix.

Netflix will be premièring the film on their streaming service today, but a few theaters will be showing the film as well.  The problem is these screenings are going to be VERY sparse!  How sparse?  Well, I live near Los Angeles County, and even I can't find any showings of the movie.  There is an Alamo Drafthouse in San Francisco that appears to be showing it, but they are only showing it once a day.  At 2:45pm.  In 2D.  That is... pretty sad for a movie that was shot specifically with the 3D format in mind.  In fact, animation tends to lend itself better to 3D than most live action movies, so in this case the lack of options to view it in the format is especially discouraging.  Despite what many believe, Netflix does stream some 3D content, but at the moment we have no idea if "The Little Prince" is going to have that option made available.

If there was the promise of a BluRay 3D to come maybe some concerns could be eased, but Netflix is (rightfully) cautious about releasing exclusive content on disk.  The fact that "Daredevil" and their various DreamWorks cartoons aren't yet on DVD or BluRay speaks volumes about that.  It should also be noted that a month and a half ago Netflix premièred the long lost "Underdogs" movie...

...which was supposed to go to theaters via The Weinstein Company, but was pulled at the last minute without so much as a word.  That movie was also shot in 3D, but (surprise, surprise) there is no current way for fans of the movie to watch it in the specified format at the moment.  These are the days when running this blog is especially frustrating because "The Little Prince" and "Underdogs" were both made to be viewed in 3D.  Both films had their theatrical runs cancelled, they were shoved onto Netflix (which - I must stress - is still better than not getting them at all), and have dumped 3D versions that made both movies look better.  "Suicide Squad" has dubious 3D effects, yet is made available for the entire world to see very easily should they choose to (even if they don't).  It's a little sad, but that is the world we live in.