In 2010, there was a dramatic increase and prominence in the use of 3D-technology in filmmaking after the success of Avatar in the format, with releases such as Alice in Wonderland, Clash of the Titans, My Name is Khan, Jackass 3D, all animated films, with numerous other titles being released in 3D formats. 20th Century Fox celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2010.
"At times it feels as if we’re living in something of a cinematic golden age, but one that’s altogether different from earlier halcyon days. Where some celebrate the former genius of the system to explain an earlier day’s proliferation of fine movies, now the system is something of a blunderer that often flings itself into follies or even crushes inspiration under its weight, but sometimes gets carried away, for reasons good or bad, and hands surprising control of vast resources over to artists who make stunningly audacious and personal use of them. The best filmmakers working in Hollywood have a passionate grasp of the cinematic past, but they don’t swoon over its polish or emulate its styles, they excavate it for its raw materials. There’s also a ferment here of independent filmmaking that liberates young people who, in earlier times, might have had to scuffle or supplicate for years while angling for a practical chance that now, with video, and with adequate effort, they can seize for themselves. Some of these independents have developed distinctive methods as well as aesthetics—regarding subject matter, picture, and performance—that are apt for the means of production. They make their lives, their homes, their families, their problems, and even their art the focus of their movies, and because, in their individuality, they share much with others in their generation, their stories, at their best—reflecting the age-old clashes and strivings of talented and ambitious youths in life, love, and art—reverberate deeply and widely. Meanwhile, the proliferation of arthouse cinemas and the sudden availability of classics on DVD and via Netflix go hand in hand with the rise of their art: their fierce focus on the immediate and the intimate includes the intensely personal experience of movies—whether treasures from the history of cinema or instant classics newly arrived from around the world. And, thanks to the Internet’s rapidity of ripple-effects that carry word from bloggers and enthusiasts to the world at large, the independent aesthetic and its artists have quickly had an impact on the Hollywood mainstream, in salutary ways."[1]
2010 was the first year to have two films cross the billion-dollar milestone.[3]
Toy Story 3 was the first animated film to gross $1 billion,[3] and is currently the eighth highest-grossing animated film ever worldwide. This is also the first time that five animated films have been present in the Top 10 highest-grossing films of the year; two of them are in the Top 5.
