The film follows Moose and Camille Gage as they head to New York University, the former dancer of whom is majoring in electrical engineering after promising his father that he would not dance anymore.

It was the second movie to feature the Dolby Surround 7.1 audio format theatrically, preceded by Toy Story 3.

While touring the campus, Moose sees a pair of Limited Edition Gun Metal Nike Dunks worn by Luke Katcher, the leader of the House of Pirates dance crew.

Luke believes that with the skills of Moose and the rest of his dance crew, they could win the grand prize in the World Jam Championships contest to help pay the mortgage, as the warehouse is in arrears so could be auctioned off.

He goes to test, but seeing the paper and receiving a message from Luke, he rushes to the competition just in time.

Natalie is hiding the fact that her brother is Julien, the leader of the House of Samurai, and lies about everything but the love connection between her and Luke.

The two fall out after Moose shows up late to a party; the final straw after being distant with her since arriving at university.

Former crewmate Carlos informs them that Julien has bought their warehouse, but says they can have it back if they throw the battle, but they refuse to take the offer.

Before leaving, Luke gives Moose his pair of Limited Edition Gun Metal Nike Dunks.

The website's critical consensus said: "It may not contain believable acting or a memorable plot, but Step Up 3-D delivers solid choreography and stunning visuals".

[9] Keith Uhlich of Time Out New York named Step Up 3D the third-best film of 2010, arguing that it "[one-upped] the overpraised stereoscopic advancements of Avatar.

Its domestic box-office run ended on November 4, 2010, having accumulated $42,400,223 and as of December 5, 2010 it has also earned $116,889,135 in other territories, for a worldwide total of $159,289,358.

On the weekend lasting from October 8–10, 2010 it surpassed Step Up 2: The Streets to become the highest-grossing movie of the franchise worldwide.