Jump to content
Main menu
Main menu
move to sidebar
hide
Navigation
Main page
Recent changes
Random page
Help about MediaWiki
Special pages
Niidae Wiki
Search
Search
Appearance
Create account
Log in
Personal tools
Create account
Log in
Pages for logged out editors
learn more
Contributions
Talk
Editing
Titanic (1997 film)
(section)
Page
Discussion
English
Read
Edit
View history
Tools
Tools
move to sidebar
hide
Actions
Read
Edit
View history
General
What links here
Related changes
Page information
Appearance
move to sidebar
hide
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
===Commercial analysis=== Before ''Titanic''{{'}}s release, various film critics predicted the film would be a [[Box office bomb|significant disappointment at the box office]], especially since it was the most expensive film ever made at the time.<ref name="entertainment.timesonline.co.uk" /><ref name="Bbc.co.uk">{{cite news | first=Jason | last=Davis | title=Love story that won the heart of the Academy: The love story that stole the world's hearts | work=BBC News | access-date=September 11, 2007 | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1998/03/98/oscars/69009.stm | date=March 24, 1998 | archive-date=December 1, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201043739/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1998/03/98/oscars/69009.stm | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="www.guardian.co.uk">{{cite news|first=David|last=Thomson|title=Titanic achievement at the box office|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=December 10, 2007|access-date=January 8, 2010|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2007/dec/10/titanicachievementatthebox|location=London|archive-date=December 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201043744/https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2007/dec/10/titanicachievementatthebox|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="www.dvdactive.com">{{cite web|first=Benjamin|last=Willcock|title=Benjamin Willcock takes a look at the long-awaited special edition of Titanic|publisher=dvdactive.com|access-date=January 19, 2010|url=http://www.dvdactive.com/reviews/dvd/titanic-special-edition-2-disc.html|archive-date=October 10, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010114337/http://www.dvdactive.com/reviews/dvd/titanic-special-edition-2-disc.html}}</ref> When it was shown to the press in autumn of 1997, "it was with massive forebodings", since the "people in charge of the screenings believed they were on the verge of losing their jobs – because of this great [[Albatross (metaphor)|albatross]] of a picture on which, finally, two studios had to combine to share the great load of its making".<ref name="www.guardian.co.uk" /> Cameron also thought he was "headed for disaster" at one point during filming. "We labored the last six months on ''Titanic'' in the absolute knowledge that the studio would lose $100 million. It was a certainty," he stated.<ref name="entertainment.timesonline.co.uk" /> As the film neared release, "particular venom was spat at Cameron for what was seen as his hubris and monumental extravagance". A film critic for the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' wrote that "Cameron's overweening pride has come close to capsizing this project" and that the film was "a hackneyed, completely derivative copy of old Hollywood romances".<ref name="entertainment.timesonline.co.uk" /> {{Quote box |salign=center |width=250px |align=right | quote = It's hard to forget the director on the stage of the [[Shrine Auditorium]] in LA, exultant, pumping a golden Oscar statuette into the air and shouting: "I'm the king of the world!" As everyone knew, that was the most famous line in ''Titanic'', exclaimed by Leonardo DiCaprio's character as he leaned into the wind on the prow of the doomed vessel. Cameron's incantation of the line was a giant "eff off", in front of a television audience approaching a billion, to all the naysayers, especially those sitting right in front of him.|source=—Christopher Goodwin of ''[[The Times]]'' on Cameron's response to ''Titanic''{{'s}} criticism<ref name="entertainment.timesonline.co.uk" />}} When the film became a success, with an unprecedented box-office performance, it was credited for being a love story that captured its viewers' emotions.<ref name="Bbc.co.uk" /> The film was playing on 3,200 screens ten weeks after it opened,<ref name="www.guardian.co.uk" /> and out of its fifteen straight weeks on top of the charts, jumped 43% in total sales in its ninth week of release. It earned over $20 million for each of its first 10 weekends,<ref name="www.mtv.com">{{cite news|first=Eric|last=Ditzian|title=Will 'Avatar' Top James Cameron's 'Titanic' Box-Office Record?|publisher=MTV|date=January 4, 2010|access-date=January 8, 2010|url=http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1628991/story.jhtml|archive-date=December 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201043754/http://www.mtv.com/news/movies/|url-status=dead}}</ref> and after 14 weeks was still bringing in more than $1 million on weekdays.<ref name="www.guardian.co.uk" /> 20th Century Fox estimated that seven percent of American teenage girls had seen ''Titanic'' twice by its fifth week.<ref name="busch19980306">{{cite magazine | url=https://ew.com/article/1998/03/06/leonardo-dicaprio-robbed-titanic-nomination/ | title=Was Leonardo Robbed? | magazine=Entertainment Weekly | date=March 6, 1998 | access-date=November 23, 2013 | author=Busch, Anita M. | archive-date=November 9, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109162757/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,282088,00.html | url-status=live }}</ref> Although young women who saw the film several times and subsequently caused "[[Leo-Mania]]" were often credited with having primarily propelled the film to its all-time box office record,<ref name="www.people.com">{{cite news|first=Anne-Marie|last=O'Neill|title=Riding the Wave|work=[[People (American magazine)|People]]|date=January 26, 1998|access-date=January 8, 2010|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20124329,00.html|archive-date=October 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018120500/https://people.com/archive/cover-story-riding-the-wave-vol-49-no-3/|url-status=live}}</ref> other reports have attributed the film's success to positive [[word of mouth]] and repeat viewership due to the love story combined with the ground-breaking special effects.<ref name="www.mtv.com" /><ref name="www.rottentomatoes.com">{{Cite Rotten Tomatoes|title=Titanic (1997)|id=titanic|type=m|access-date=March 20, 2024}}</ref> ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' estimated that after a combined production and promotion cost of $487 million, the film turned a net profit of $1.4 billion, with a modern profit of as much as $4 billion after ancillary sources.<ref name="THRprofit">{{cite web|access-date=April 26, 2020|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/what-is-profitable-movie-ever-1269879|title=What Is the Most Profitable Movie Ever?|website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=January 18, 2020|author=Stephen Galloway|archive-date=November 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116040628/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/what-is-profitable-movie-ever-1269879|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Titanic''{{'}}s impact on men has also been especially credited.<ref name="MSNBC">{{cite news|first=Ian|last=Hodder|title=Sniff, sniff{{nbsp}}... 7 movies that make guys cry|publisher=[[NBC News]]|date=March 6, 2007|access-date=January 8, 2010|url=http://www.today.com/id/17474383/|archive-date=April 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160419193835/http://www.today.com/id/17474383/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Finlo Rohrer">{{cite news|last=Rohrer|first=Finlo|title=A new type of tear-jerker|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-10636511|date=July 16, 2010|access-date=August 5, 2010|quote=Over the years misty eyes have been generated by the death of Bambi's mother, the killing of the kestrel in Kes, the ending of Titanic, or Jenny's death in Love Story.|archive-date=December 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201043822/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-10636511|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Meslow">{{cite magazine|first=Scott|last=Meslow|title=Boys Can Love 'Titanic,' Too|magazine=[[The Atlantic]]|date=April 6, 2012|access-date=October 22, 2015|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/04/boys-can-love-titanic-too/255532/|archive-date=December 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201043825/https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/04/boys-can-love-titanic-too/255532/|url-status=live}}</ref> It is considered one of the films that make men cry,<ref name="MSNBC" /><ref name="Finlo Rohrer" /> with [[MSNBC]]'s Ian Hodder stating that men admire Jack's sense of adventure and his ambitious behavior to win over Rose, which contributes to their emotional attachment to Jack.<ref name="MSNBC" /> The film's ability to make men cry was briefly parodied in the 2009 film ''[[Zombieland]]'', where character Tallahassee ([[Woody Harrelson]]), when recalling the death of his young son, states: "I haven't cried like that since ''Titanic''."<ref name="Www.mtv.com">{{cite news|first=Kurt|last=Loder|author-link=Kurt Loder|title=Woody Harrelson brings the laughs in a high-spirited monster mow-down.|website=[[MTV]]|date=October 2, 2009|access-date=December 6, 2010|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1622859/zombieland-road-kill-by-kurt-loder/|archive-date=December 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201043828/http://www.mtv.com/news/1622859/zombieland-road-kill-by-kurt-loder/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Scott Meslow of ''[[The Atlantic]]'' stated while ''Titanic'' initially seems to need no defense, given its success, it is considered a film "for 15-year-old girls" by its main detractors. He argued that dismissing ''Titanic'' as fodder for teenage girls fails to consider the film's accomplishment: "that [this] grandiose, 3+ hour historical romantic drama is a film for everyone—including teenage boys." Meslow stated that despite the film being ranked high by males under the age of 18, matching the ratings for teenage boy-targeted films like ''[[Iron Man (2008 film)|Iron Man]]'', it is common for boys and men to deny liking ''Titanic''. He acknowledged his own rejection of the film as a child while secretly loving it. "It's this collection of elements—the history, the romance, the action—that made (and continues to make) ''Titanic'' an irresistible proposition for audiences of all ages across the globe," he stated. "''Titanic'' has flaws, but for all its legacy, it's better than its middlebrow reputation would have you believe. It's a great movie for 15-year-old girls, but that doesn't mean it's not a great movie for everyone else too."<ref name="Meslow"/> Quotes in the film aided its popularity. ''Titanic''{{'s}} catchphrase "I'm the king of the world!" became one of the film industry's more popular quotations.<ref name="WWW.afi.com">{{cite web| title=AFI's 100 Years{{nbsp}}... 100 Movie Quotes|publisher=American Film Institute|access-date=January 19, 2010|url=http://connect.afi.com/site/DocServer/quotes100.pdf?docID=242|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716070844/http://connect.afi.com/site/DocServer/quotes100.pdf?docID=242|archive-date=July 16, 2011}}</ref><ref name="www.cnn.com">{{cite web|first=A|last=Pawlowski|title=You talkin' to me? Film quotes stir passion|website=[[CNN]]|date=March 9, 2009|access-date=January 21, 2010|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/03/09/film.quotes/index.html|archive-date=December 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201043908/http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/03/09/film.quotes/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> According to Richard Harris, a psychology professor at [[Kansas State University]], who studied why people like to cite films in social situations, using film quotations in everyday conversation is similar to telling a joke and a way to form solidarity with others. "People are doing it to feel good about themselves, to make others laugh, to make themselves laugh", he said.<ref name="www.cnn.com"/> Cameron explained the film's success as having significantly benefited from the experience of sharing. "When people have an experience that's very powerful in the movie theatre, they want to go share it. They want to grab their friend and bring them, so that they can enjoy it," he said. "They want to be the person to bring them the news that this is something worth having in their life. That's how ''Titanic'' worked."<ref name="cnn.com">{{cite web|first=Jason |last=Carroll |title=CNN's Jason Carroll interviews director James Cameron about his new film "Avatar." (Video.) |website=[[CNN]] |date=November 23, 2009 |access-date=December 20, 2009 |url=http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/showbiz/2009/11/22/int.cameron.carroll.long.cnn.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091128125635/http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/showbiz/2009/11/22/int.cameron.carroll.long.cnn.html |archive-date=November 28, 2009}}</ref> [[Media Awareness Network]] stated, "The normal repeat viewing rate for a blockbuster theatrical film is about 5%. The repeat rate for ''Titanic'' was over 20%."<ref name="www.media-awareness.ca" /> The box office receipts "were even more impressive" when factoring in "the film's 3-hour-and-14-minute length meant that it could only be shown three times a day compared to a normal movie's four showings". In response to this, "[m]any theatres started midnight showings and were rewarded with full houses until almost 3:30 am".<ref name="www.media-awareness.ca" /> ''Titanic'' held the record for box office gross for 12 years.<ref name="www.slate.com">{{cite web|first=Josh|last=Levin|title=Here Come the Cats With Human Boobs. Is Avatar destined to flop?|work=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]|date=December 10, 2009|access-date=December 20, 2009|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/movies/2009/12/here_come_the_cats_with_human_boobs.html|archive-date=October 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003011526/http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/movies/2009/12/here_come_the_cats_with_human_boobs.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Cameron's follow-up film, ''[[Avatar (2009 film)|Avatar]]'', was considered the first film with a genuine chance at surpassing its worldwide gross,<ref name="www.marketwatch.com">{{cite web|first=Russ|last=Britt|title=Can Cameron break his own box-office record? 'Avatar' unprecedented in staying power, international sales|website=[[MarketWatch]]|date=January 4, 2010|access-date=January 4, 2010|url=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/can-avatar-director-break-his-box-office-record-2010-01-04|archive-date=October 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031113341/https://www.marketwatch.com/story/can-avatar-director-break-his-box-office-record-2010-01-04|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="moviesblog.mtv.com">{{cite news|first=Brian|last=Jacks|title=EXCLUSIVE: James Cameron Says 'Avatar' Will Beat 'Titanic' To Become Biggest Of All Time|website=[[MTV]]|date=January 16, 2010|access-date=January 17, 2010|url=http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2010/01/16/james-cameron-weighs-in-on-whether-avatar-will-outsell-titanic/|archive-date=January 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122224239/http://www.mtv.com/news/movies/2010/01/16/james-cameron-weighs-in-on-whether-avatar-will-outsell-titanic/|url-status=dead}}</ref> and did so in 2010.<ref name="newsday" /> [[Avatar (2009 film)#Commercial analysis|Various explanations]] for why the film was able to successfully challenge ''Titanic'' were given. For one, "Two-thirds of ''Titanic''{{'s}} haul was earned overseas, and ''Avatar'' [tracked] similarly{{nbsp}}... ''Avatar'' opened in 106 markets globally and was no. 1 in all of them" and the markets "such as Russia, where ''Titanic'' saw modest receipts in 1997 and 1998, are white-hot today" with "more screens and moviegoers" than ever before.<ref name="www.newsweek.com">{{cite news|first=Sarah|last=Ball|title=How 'Avatar' Can Beat 'Titanic'|work=[[Newsweek]]|date=January 6, 2010|access-date=January 9, 2010|url=http://www.newsweek.com/how-avatar-can-beat-titanic-71031|archive-date=January 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126184858/http://www.newsweek.com/how-avatar-can-beat-titanic-71031|url-status=live}}</ref> Brandon Gray, president of [[Box Office Mojo]], said that while ''Avatar'' may beat ''Titanic''{{'s}} revenue record, the film is unlikely to surpass ''Titanic'' in attendance. "Ticket prices were about $3 cheaper in the late 1990s."<ref name="www.marketwatch.com" /> In December 2009, Cameron had stated, "I don't think it's realistic to try to topple ''Titanic'' off its perch. Some pretty good movies have come out in the last few years. ''Titanic'' just struck some kind of chord."<ref name="www.mtv.com" /> In a January 2010 interview, he gave a different take on the matter once ''Avatar''{{'s}} performance was easier to predict, saying "It's gonna happen. It's just a matter of time,".<ref name="moviesblog.mtv.com" /> Author Alexandra Keller, when analyzing ''Titanic''{{'}}s success, stated that scholars could agree that the film's popularity "appears dependent on contemporary culture, on perceptions of history, on patterns of [[consumerism]] and [[globalization]], as well as on those elements experienced filmgoers conventionally expect of juggernaut film events in the 1990s – awesome screen spectacle, expansive action, and, more rarely seen, engaging characters and epic drama."<ref name="Keller">{{cite book|first=Alexandra|last=Keller|title=James Cameron|publisher=[[Routledge]]|location=London, England|isbn=978-1-134-70021-9|year=2014|pages=73–76|access-date=October 25, 2014|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UGd9AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA73|archive-date=April 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150416105119/http://books.google.com/books?id=UGd9AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA73|url-status=live}}</ref>
Summary:
Please note that all contributions to Niidae Wiki may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here.
You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see
Encyclopedia:Copyrights
for details).
Do not submit copyrighted work without permission!
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)
Search
Search
Editing
Titanic (1997 film)
(section)
Add topic