If any filmmaker had “Titanic” on their resume then it would probably be the best film they’ve ever made. But not James Cameron. It’s probably his third or fourth best movie after “Aliens,” “The Terminator” and “T2: Judgement Day.”
And so, 25 years on, “Titanic” is still a great movie, one of Cameron’s several $2 billion-grossing blockbusters, and it was re-released in 2,400 Imax screens this weekend. Here is the brand new trailer.
What’s even more impressive is that “Titanic” made almost $2.8 million on Friday. It will win the weekend with a $10 million opening. Incredible. This is a movie topping the box-office, again, 25 years later.
As big of a hit as ‘The Way of Water’ is at the moment, “Titanic” actually sold three times more tickets. It really was this unprecedented phenomenon that hasn’t been duplicated since. No movie has come close to the sheer passionate turnout and response “Titanic” received from movie audiences in late 1997/early 1998.
Not a coincidence this re-release is occurring on Valentine’s Day weekend. It’s also going to sport a 3D 4K HDR and high-frame-rate transfer of the film. I’m very much tempted to go check it out, but look at that running time: 3 hours and 16 minutes.
Released in 1997, “Titanic” broke box-office records left and right. Leonardo DiCaprio became a major star because of it, ditto breakout Kate Winslet. The film would go on to win 11 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director.
Yes, Cameron’s penchant for tin-eared dialogue was still very much present (“I’ll never let go, Jack”) but this was such a movie-movie, a spectacle of the highest order that only a filmmaker of Cameron’s calibre could conceive. The visuals still take your breath away and the story being told is utterly engrossing. You get swept up by the whole thing.