A 3-D ‘Jason Bourne’ in China: It’s a little too dizzying

Jason Bourne is making moviegoers in China sick – literally.

Since the release earlier this week of the latest Universal Pictures spy thriller, Chinese who watched the film in 3-D have complained of feeling queasy and having to dash to the restroom. The backlash spread rapidly on social media, with filmgoers demanding refunds and asking why few theaters were showing the movie in the original 2-D style.

Universal released this version to the China market, where 3-D tickets sell for more. The incident underscores how Hollywood’s efforts to appeal to – and profit off – China’s vast number of filmgoers sometimes have dizzying effects.

Xie Yufei said she had wanted a romantic evening out with her boyfriend. Instead, she spent the evening fighting off dizziness. “My throat and stomach felt really sick,” the 27-year-old Shanghai dentist said in an interview. “I almost fainted.”

A Universal spokeswoman in China declined to comment. But on Wednesday the company posted a note on Weibo, the country’s version of Twitter, vowing to help make the 2-D version of the film available in more theaters.

“We completely understand and respect the audience’s needs, and hope all moviegoers can choose what to watch according to their preferences,” the company said.

Theaters with 2-D versions nearly quadrupled screenings overnight, to 8,000 scheduled for Friday, according to EntGroup, an entertainment consulting firm. But ticket sales tumbled from an opening high of about $11 million on Tuesday’s debut to about $6 million by Thursday.

Hollywood studios are angling for ways to entice a movie market that is on pace to surpass the U.S. as the world’s largest. And 3-D is a proven draw. Chinese tend to enjoy the technology’s bigger-than-life effects, even if tickets can cost up to 30% more. Other fast-paced Hollywood movies, such as “Avatar” and “Iron Man 3,” also have aired 3-D versions in China.

Wanda Cinema Line, China’s movie theater behemoth, signed a deal with Beverly Hills-based RealD this month to equip 4,000 screens with 3-D projection. They billed it as the biggest cinema 3-D installation agreement in history.

China currently restricts the number of foreign movies it allows into the country every year to 34, of which 14 most be shown in enhanced forms such as 3-D or IMAX.

But for some, what started as a feature turned into a flaw. Film fans complained director Paul Greengrass’ use of handheld cameras magnified the jerkiness and made them experience motion sickness.

“I thought there were some problems with my drinks that night,” one viewer posted on Weibo. “Looks like it wasn’t only me vomiting after watching it.”

Movie posters plastered on subway walls and inside malls played up China’s release of the fifth installment of the Jason Bourne series, featuring a vexed Matt Damon hunting down his past. The actor even appeared in Beijing last week to promote the movie. It opened in the U.S. earlier this summer — in 2-D — with a $60 million debut.

Damon won over many Chinese with his performance last year as a stranded astronaut in “The Martian.” He will star next year in Chinese director Zhang Yimou’s film “The Great Wall,” in which the iconic structure defends the world from monsters.

Even fans expressed frustration at their limited choice.

The “Chinese market loves 3-D films,” said Zhang Yi, a Beijing-based film critic, who saw the film. “But the audience should be given the right to choose between 2-D or 3-D.”

Xie, the Shanghai resident whose night went awry, went home and wrote up a list of tips for those who wanted to brave the 3-D movie.

“Don’t drink too much water,” she said. “And eat properly. Or you will face the consequences.”

Meyers is a special correspondent. Yangzhi Yang from The Times’ Beijing bureau contributed to this report.