A Look at The Biggest Box Office Stories from 1972-present (THABOS: The History of Amazing Box Office Stories) | IT'S FINALLY COMPLETE!!!!!!!

[baumer]

I included the stuff about the soundtrack because it needed to be mentioned, but also because I know how into soundtrack sales @Chaz is.

[Chaz]

The pop culture behemoth. It was absolutely inescapable. We haven't seen anything like it since.

 

I was in the fifth grade when it released, and I did not see it in theaters. I grew up in a small town and the nearest movie theater was 45 minutes away, so I wasn't able to see it even though I was totally into the mania surrounding it. I had to lie to my friends when they talked about it and pretend that I had seen it too. 

 

I probably played "My Heart Will Go On" six times a day for weeks. I still listen to it every couple of weeks. One of the best songs of the '90s.

 

The VHS released on September 1, 1998. I faked sick that morning so that I would be able to stay with my grandmother. She took me to Wal-Mart and the two-taped release was in a huge cardboard display at the front door. We went back to her house and I was finally, after 10 months, able to see Titanic. I eventually owned it on DVD (The 2005 Commemorative Edition is still the definitive) and Blu-ray.

 

I still have to watch every time it plays on T.V. Just one of those classics that has ridiculous staying power.

[Chaz]

7 minutes ago, Stutterng baumer Denbrough said:

I included the stuff about the soundtrack because it needed to be mentioned, but also because I know how into soundtrack sales @Chaz is.

It spent 16 weeks at #1! That was an incredible feat in 1998, when people still bought albums. It blocked Madonna's Ray of Light, widely considered one of the best Pop albums of the decade, from getting the #1 spot. It also kept Shania Twain's Come on Over, the biggest-selling album of all time by a female artist in the U.S., from hitting #1.

 

Interesting side note: Celine's "My Heart Will Go On" only spent two weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. At the time, a song was only eligible to chart if it had a commercially released CD single. They never released a single for the song until the end of its run, and they only made a limited number. It quickly sold out and allowed the song to debut at #1 on the Hot 100 and stay there for two weeks. If they had released a single earlier, it likely would have ranked among the biggest #1 hits of all time.

Edited August 3, 2017 by Chaz

[Chaz]

Siskel and Ebert both loved Titanic.

 

 

They both included it on their "10 Best of 1997" lists.

[Jonwo]

I imagine if BOT was around in 1997, we have people chiming about Titanic being a potential expensive disaster and how Tomorrow Never Dies would slaughter it. 

 

Its amazing that Paramount and Fox didn't want a December release for Titanic. Now it's one of the prime release slot. The biggest weekend it had was actually Valentine's Day 1998. 

 

BTW I hope The Full Monty gets a mention, that film was a unexpected success especially in the UK when it came out around the time Princess Diana died and I think audience needed an antidote to the tragedy 

 

[Chaz]

8 minutes ago, Jonwo said:

I imagine if BOT was around in 1997, we have people chiming about Titanic being a potential expensive disaster and how Tomorrow Never Dies would slaughter it. 

 

Its amazing that Paramount and Fox didn't want a December release for Titanic. Now it's one of the prime release slot. The biggest weekend it had was actually Valentine's Day 1998. 

 

BTW I hope The Full Monty gets a mention, that film was a unexpected success especially in the UK when it came out around the time Princess Diana died and I think audience needed an antidote to the tragedy 

 

Its biggest weekend was actually Christmas '97. It took in $35 million. It made $32 million over the four day Valentine's Day weekend in '98.

 

Just imagine that number...nearly two months after release. Lordy!

[Eric is Quiet]

30 minutes ago, Jonwo said:

I imagine if BOT was around in 1997, we have people chiming about Titanic being a potential expensive disaster and how Tomorrow Never Dies would slaughter it. 

 

Its amazing that Paramount and Fox didn't want a December release for Titanic. Now it's one of the prime release slot. The biggest weekend it had was actually Valentine's Day 1998. 

 

BTW I hope The Full Monty gets a mention, that film was a unexpected success especially in the UK when it came out around the time Princess Diana died and I think audience needed an antidote to the tragedy 

 

There's actually a very interesting thread made a couple of years back that was all about what a Titanic thread would probably be like. It's a long read, but an enjoyable one.

As for the movie, I feel bad to admit I only saw it last year, but I was surprised by how well it holds up. Most of it definitely comes down to the characters, but even the visuals themselves are still something to behold, even years later.

 

[baumer]

3 hours ago, Jonwo said:

I imagine if BOT was around in 1997, we have people chiming about Titanic being a potential expensive disaster and how Tomorrow Never Dies would slaughter it. 

 

Its amazing that Paramount and Fox didn't want a December release for Titanic. Now it's one of the prime release slot. The biggest weekend it had was actually Valentine's Day 1998. 

 

BTW I hope The Full Monty gets a mention, that film was a unexpected success especially in the UK when it came out around the time Princess Diana died and I think audience needed an antidote to the tragedy 

 

 

I can't make any promises about The Full Monty.  But I'll see what I can do.

[Premium George]

 

The year I was born. I saw Titanic in 2003-4 on VHS. I cried. Then in 2008 when I was looking for The dark knight's box office, I found out, at that time for me a romantic movie, was the highest grossing movie of all time. I still think, worldwide box office potential of any movie increases 10x fold, if the line director of titanic and avatar is featured in it's trailer. To think, after re-release, OS total of Titanic is close to full worldwide total of Avengers, 5th highest grossing movie of all time. And titanic was released in 1997.

And James Cameron did it twice.

[vc2002]

Titanic: "Baumer, I want you to review me like one of your Top 10 movies."

[Brainbug]

When you adjust the box office run for Titanic on Mojo it becomes even more mind-blowing. I admit, ive never fully seen the movie and i dont have any interest in trying it again. I just dont like it. But nearly the whole world went batshit crazy over it. Its very interesting to me that Titanic as well as Avatar were such monsters overseas. I mean Titanic made over 1 billion OS in a time where no one believed that was even possible in the next 10 years. Its astounding.

[75Live]

@Stutterng baumer Denbrough another awesome write up, which is getting redundant to say by now

 

but Titanic does deserve its own standalone description because all of it defies description.

 

I know I have told this story a bunch but it bears repeating now.  I saw Titanic 12 times in the theater.  11 times on the original run (it became a Friday night tradition) and one time for the 3D release.  Not for 3d but because it was the 100 anniversary of the sailing and sadly, sinking so we had to see it on that day.

 

I have at least 3 of the movie posters including the main ones and  posters that weren't even really show in US theaters much    I have tons of books about it and when it was found again by Ballard, I did a presentation about it in school.

 

So obviously I am into the subject matter, and it was so great to see another movie bring it to light and in kind of a different way than A Night to Remember (which is pretty great as well).

 

I know over the years it started to get shredded, but that happens to a lot of popular films.  We can look back and maybe see flaws we didn't see before, but I think it has gone overboard (excuse the pun) when it comes to Titanic (and no, Titanic isn't alone in that).  Not necessarily the best script and if I heard them say Jack or Rose one more time in the movie I personally would have thrown them both off the boat earlier    But really none of that hurt the movie or makes me like it any less.

 

so in a way, the movie lived up to one of the monikers of the boat where it was the ship of dreams and the movie of dreams.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 3, 2017 by 75livesinDerry

[baumer]

Thanks 75....I always enjoy your comments/responses.  I too saw it again when it came out for the 3D release....same reason as you.  Not because it's Titanic in 3D but because it's Titanic.  And you saw it 12X?  Damn!  That's awesome.  

 

Yea, I guess there are a few flaws, but none of it really matters.

[75Live]

9 minutes ago, Stutterng baumer Denbrough said:

Thanks 75....I always enjoy your comments/responses.  I too saw it again when it came out for the 3D release....same reason as you.  Not because it's Titanic in 3D but because it's Titanic.  And you saw it 12X?  Damn!  That's awesome.  

 

Yea, I guess there are a few flaws, but none of it really matters.

yep 12x.  11 times with the same person.  We went ever Friday for pretty much 8 or 9 straight weeks right after I was done work since the theater was right behind my work.  So she would get there, save the seats.  I would just walk over from work, get my ticket, the ticket taker recognized me after a while and would even say "yes she's in there waiting for you"

 

 

[baumer]

Oh man!!! That's awesome!  Thanks for sharing.

[Jonwo]

12 times is an achievement, three times is my limit for seeing a film and the last time I did that was for The Force Awakens.

[75Live]

6 minutes ago, Stutterng baumer Denbrough said:

Oh man!!! That's awesome!  Thanks for sharing.

 

Yeah it was a good time.  Ironically when we first saw the movie, it was in a different theater and my grandmother died that Saturday and we saw it Sunday night.  I didn't tell my friend that I saw it with about that, because I didn't want to ruin the night at that time.  Plus it was kind of an escape of everything.  I told her after the movie was over and she was going on about "i just saw you see a movie where all these people died" so she felt bad.  I told her I needed it and it helped me release some stuff and it was a good thing.

 

Ok not as uplifting as my first sharing of my experiences, but it is all part of it too  

Edited August 3, 2017 by 75livesinDerry

[75Live]

3 minutes ago, Jonwo said:

12 times is an achievement, three times is my limit for seeing a film and the last time I did that was for The Force Awakens.

 

and the funny thing is, it's not my record for seeing a movie the most times in a theater   It's I think in my top 7 or so, but not number one

[baumer]

3 hours ago, 75livesinDerry said:

 

and the funny thing is, it's not my record for seeing a movie the most times in a theater   It's I think in my top 7 or so, but not number one

 

That's a really sad story about your grandmother.....sorry you went through it, but we all do at some point.  Doesn't make it any easier.  You must have bawled like a baby when you saw it after she passed.  But I guess in a way it must have been therapeutic.  

 

What films have you seen the most in theaters?

[75Live]

8 minutes ago, Stutterng baumer Denbrough said:

 

That's a really sad story about your grandmother.....sorry you went through it, but we all do at some point.  Doesn't make it any easier.  You must have bawled like a baby when you saw it after she passed.  But I guess in a way it must have been therapeutic.  

 

What films have you seen the most in theaters?

 

yeah probably shouldn't have shared the story.  Didn't want to stop the momentum of this thread   yeah I am sure I did bawl a lot

 

ROTJ - 23x

ESB - 20x

ANH - 17x

Titanic - 12x

Jaws  - 10x

SW ep VIII TFA - 7x

TDK - 7x

 

 

and so on down the line.  

 

some of the older ones are probably more estimates now like Jaws maybe more by now, but you get the idea