This weekend, Shrek Forever After, the fourth film in the long-running and incredibly profitable DreamWorks franchise, stumbled out of the gate with a relatively disappointing $71 million opening weekend. The film was projected to open in the $80-$120 million range and had the widest release--a staggering 4,359 theaters this weekend-- of a PG-rated film in history. (The previous Shrek film, Shrek the Third, opened to a much higher $121.6 million.) Looking at the per-theater grosses tells an even grimmer tale, particularly given the high cost of a 3D movie ticket. Shrek Forever After only brought in an average of $16,345 per theater. To put that figure in perspective, Iron Man 2 opened to a $29,252 average, Alice in Wonderland opened to a $31,143 average. So, what went wrong exactly?

It could be diminishing returns to a series that has saturated the market, it could be the poor reviews, or, as some analysts are suggesting, it could be the exorbitant cost of 3D movie tickets. It's been suggested that the film could perform similarly to DreamWorks's other 3D animated offering this year, How To Train Your Dragon, which opened fairly low but exhibited impressive staying power that lead to reasonably impressive box-office, but that remains to be seen.

At the end of the day, maybe $20/ticket is a bit much for parents who just want to keep their kids occupied for a few hours. If it is price that is deterring audiences, this could signal a shift in the role that 3D plays in the marketplace.

The film industry loves the technology because it allows them to justify higher prices, which has led to a spate of dubious 3D films. Just this spring, Clash of the Titans was converted to 3D at the last minute in a blatant cash grab that had critics calling foul on the poor implementation. If audiences start to be discerning about which 3D films they'll shell out the extra dough for, Hollywood may see their dreams of 3D as the wave of the future evaporate as the technology becomes a niche effect.