Director James Cameron certainly knows a thing or two about making epic blockbuster movies. The Canadian movie boss, 67, has the Terminator franchise, Avatar and Aliens to his name, and has built a reputation for himself as one of the most visionary - and most intimidating - directors in Hollywood. His movies are often groundbreaking in terms of their scale and visual effects, and have entered the public consciousness - they've been enjoyed, parodied, and rediscovered again and again. No movie has defined Cameron's status so much perhaps as his 1997 masterpiece Titanic. The epic romance, which takes place on the doomed ocean liner which sank in April 1912, has captured the hearts of cinema-goers for 25 years.
Upon its release, Titanic became the highest-grossing movie of all time, breaking records easily bas fans flocked to get their fix of Jack and Rose's timeless romance - so just how much has it raked in since its initial release?
7 'Titanic' Was Released At A Really Bad Moment
A number of factors ran against Titanic becoming a success at the box office. Chief amongst them was the movie's unfortunate time of release; as one author explains:
'The film was originally scheduled to open on July 2, 1997 in order to exploit the lucrative summer season ticket sales when blockbuster films usually do better. In April, Cameron announced that the movie's special effects were too complicated and that he could not deliver the film in time for a summer release.'
6 James Cameron Was Worried The Film Would Flop
Even Cameron himself was doubtful about the picture's prospects after it was released, believing himself at it would be an embarrassing flop even as he continued to direct and edit Titanic in its final stages. Things were looking bad, and the studio was panicking too - requesting massive cuts to the movie in the hopes that a shorter run time would help its earnings when it eventually hit cinemas.
The film was eventually released in winter, staggered between November and December - a time when most patrons would rather stay warm at home than venture out to movie theater!
5 The First Reaction To 'Titanic' Was Lukewarm
If you expected that Titanic stormed out of the starting gate to massive applause during its premiere, you would be severely mistaken. Surprisingly, the movie failed to hit the right note with critics when it first premiered on November 1, 1997, at the Tokyo International Film Festival. Those who saw the very first showing were apparently somewhat underwhelmed by what they saw, and evidently had no sense of premonition about the massive waves which Titanic was set to make worldwide.
4 But Then 'Titanic' Surprised Everybody
To make matters worse, the press were pushing stories that the production of Titanic had been a torturous disaster led by a tyrannical, perfectionist director who was pushing the feature way over budget - and was destined to be a box office bomb. What happened next, however, proved all the naysayers wrong. The blockbuster movie earned an astonishing $8,658,814 on its opening day in the US and Canada, and made an astounding $28,638,131 over the opening weekend.
3 'Titanic' Broke The Billion Dollar Mark When First Released
Quickly earning back its record-breaking $200m budget, it wasn't long before Titanic was breaking yet another record - becoming the highest-grossing movie of all time at that point. By the time it had finished its first run in cinemas across the world, Cameron's doomed romance had not merely avoided failure as many had expected, but had become the triumph of the century. It had grossed $1,843,201,268 worldwide.
2 'Titanic' Has Been Re-Released Many Times
People can never get enough of this movie. Most of us have seen it - if not at least once - then many times over, drawn in by this impossible love story and tragedy again and again. It stands to reason, therefore, that we'd be happy to pay more than once to see it at the movies, and this is exactly what has happened in the years since its initial 1997 release. Titanic has been re-released three times. Firstly, in 2012 on the centenary of the ship's sinking. Again, in 2017 for the 20-year anniversary of the movie's release, and once more in 2020 in a very small number of theaters. The popular 2012 screenings alone generated a huge $350,449,521 globally, which would have paid for the film itself.
1 So How Much Has The Movie Grossed In Total?
Combining the initial release total with those of its subsequent releases, Titanic tots up an incredible figure. In all, it has broken the $2bn figure worldwide. According to Box Office Mojo, the movie has a handsome total of $2,201,647,264 - over ten times its initial budget. This total can only be beaten by two films; Avatar (another of Cameron's amazing successes) and Avengers: Endgame.