Since 12 years, titanic was an unbeatable film at the box office, and it’s no surprise that only James Cameron topped his own film at number two. Cameron set out to achieve greatness titanic, and he didn’t let himself or any of the film’s loyal fans down with his creation. With 11 wins, including the coveted Best Picture award, the film became one of the most awarded films in Oscars history. Cameron’s historical play is also one of the most nominated films in Oscar history la la country And all about eve, who all have 14 nominations.
titanic Didn’t see instant success, and with a $200 million budget that was even more extraordinary in the ’90s, it seemed like Cameron wasn’t getting back all the money that went into making the film. Thankfully, Cameron proved that he, his crew, and his cast all put in all the hard work titanic paid off. The Oscars boosted sales and in late 1998 titanic had knocked Jurassic Park from first place where it would stay in place until Cameron released his first avatar Movie in 2009. How exactly did the blockbuster pull off this incredible feat?
James Cameron took the Titanic story to the next level
The story of the Titanic has fascinated society for decades. How could so many people be so confident that a ship was unsinkable, only to pilot it into an iceberg and watch it sink to the bottom of the ocean floor? Cameron capitalized on this fascination, knowing the technology available to him as well as his keen storytelling skills and creativity, and brought fans of the ship to the theaters to see his film during its initial release and throughout its many future re-releases.
While some disagree with Cameron’s love story and feel that the film would be stronger if it focused on more historical figures, the story of Jack Dawson and Rose Dewitt Bukater is undoubtedly the strongest part of Cameron’s work. The Romeo and Juliet-inspired love story is an age-old story, and whether it’s in book or film form, consumers keep coming back to it. Take that and put it on what is arguably the largest ship in the world, and fans loved it.
Part of what was made titanicCameron’s love story was so great that Cameron used the couple to draw viewers into the story and help them empathize with the passengers. With so many people on board, viewers can’t understand what they must all have gone through, but by giving them these two characters to fall in love with and then letting one of them die while the other has to deal with death and experience helps that audience, not just with Jack and Rose, but with all the real passengers who experienced a very similar scenario.
Historical accuracy gave the Titanic an edge
camerons titanic is the most famous film about the ship, but not the only one. The list of films about the 1912 sinking is extensive, including a 1999 animated film called The Legend of the Titanic, where a group of mice works on the ship. However, the most popular apart from Cameron’s titanicis Roy Ward Baker’s 1958 film, A night to remember. Some even prefer Baker’s version over Cameron’s as the story is more historically accurate and doesn’t include a made up love story to distract from the real events. Although for all its accuracy it could not surpass Cameron’s masterpiece.
Cameron devoted himself titanic like no other, and while he had the advantage of shooting his film after the ship was spotted at the bottom of the ocean, many filmmakers would not have taken the time to go down and see it even if they could. Cameron, on the other hand, made 33 dives on the Titanic, 12 of them during filming. During Cameron’s titanic Love Story and some of his other creative liberties, like Officer Murdoch’s suicide, weren’t historically accurate, he wanted to make sure his set was.
Images of the ship and her sister ship, the Olympic, weren’t enough for Cameron to recreate. He had to experience it himself to see where every decaying chandelier once shone, where all doors once opened to first-rate guests, and where all the ghosts of the 1912 tragedy still linger. He also used footage of the sunken ship in the film, something no other Titanic film had done.
With a $200 million budget, Cameron was able to remodel the ship’s exterior and many of its interiors, down to the smallest detail. The film set’s main staircase bears an uncanny resemblance to the one actually used by passengers in 1912. It meant a lot to devotees of the ship and its history that Cameron honored the Titanic with its accuracy. Of course, he also included historical figures like Molly Brown and Captain Smith, which really brought the story to life on screen.
Titanic had tremendous star power with its cast
When Cameron cast Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet to play Jack and Rose, neither of them were the Hollywood stars they are today. Leo had filmed Baz Luhrmanns Romeo + Juliet, but the film still premiered. Fortunately, Luhrmann’s film came out a year earlier titanic, Giving Leo the spotlight as the latest teenage heartthrob in what the media would call Leo mania. Kate was best known for her work in Sense & Sensitivity alongside Emma Thompson, who brought Kate her first Oscar nomination.
Once titanic When it premiered, Leo and Kate’s careers really took off, which meant that while the film was still in theaters almost a year after it was originally released, more and more fans flocked to see the love story of Jack and Rose. Some other famous faces in the film were Kathy Bates, Billy Zane and Bill Condon but it is safe to say that it was Leo and Kate that made the film such a success.
Star power aside, Leo and Kate had an undeniable on-screen chemistry that made fans believe in their love story. They were even asked on the Golden Globes red carpet if they attended the event as a couple, but confirmed they were just friends. Twenty-five years later, they’ve become one of Hollywood’s most beloved friendships, and fans still go nuts when they see the two together. Her notoriety has definitely got fans going back to the theaters to see her titanic, but their chemistry also played a role.
Other filmmakers couldn’t match the size of Titanic
Between titanic‘s December 1997 release and avatarWhen it was released in December 2009, many other films premiered, but none of them could beat titanic‘s stripes. titanic had so much to offer. No other movie could match Jack and Rose’s two-day romance, and no romance movie could. No other tragedy was as great as titanic‘s, and certainly most other films didn’t even have Cameron’s budget to make it titanic‘s achievements.
It was Avengers: Endgame that put Avatar at number two 10 years after its release, and with such a large Marvel fan base it had the power to do so. Although Cameron has since reclaimed his number one spot avatar, exit game is still upstairs Avatar: The Way of Water And titanic. Yet with Cameron’s many re-releases, titanic can always climb up. Cameron did a mass re-release of titanic in 2012 for the 100th anniversary of his sinking and another in February 2023 for 25 years of film.
Cameron’s commitment to allowing audiences to see the film in theaters over and over again for 25 years has allowed it to continue to thrive, and his success in making one of the greatest films of all time is what keeps it going has titanic longer at number one than it took to build the ship in the first place.
