James Cameron's Avatar: The Way of Water may be the director’s most popular film right now, but in a few weeks, moviegoers will be treated to a remaster of Titanic that Cameron believes had to get a special Valentine's Day premiere.
Titanic originally came out in December 1997 and quickly became a massive hit, unlike anything the world had seen up to that point in history, cementing The Terminator creator's legacy as one of Hollywood’s most prestigious filmmakers. Only Avatar and Avengers: Endgame have beaten Titanic's box office record since then. Athough Cameron has reworked the film to add 3D in the past, Titanic is getting a 4K HDR high frame rate treatment for its 25th anniversary.
Cameron addressed the Titanic rerelease in a recent interview with SiriusXM, mentioning this event is all about giving a new generation of people who never had the chance to see Titanic on the big screen the opportunity to do so. The director said, “I figured that I was probably not going to be around for the 50th anniversary, so why not celebrate the 25th anniversary?” Cameron said the Valentine’s Day date was chosen because that happened to be Titanic's best day at the box office back in 1998, which was “very unusual for a film that's been in the marketplace for two months.”
Cameron calls this rerelease “a celebration of love" meant to remember the film’s accomplishments and success. One thing worth noting is that, as Cameron mentions, the only thing that’s been added to Titanic's 2023 rerelease is the Dolby Atmos sound. That is because the movie was originally shot in 48fps, and all the remastering work was done 10 years ago, which included spending $18 million in adding 3D features.
In 2012, Titanic's rerelease made close to $350 million worldwide. Even if streaming has changed the movie business, for many, the possibility of seeing this film in modern cinemas is worth contributing to its $2.195 billion box office total. Funnily enough, if Titanic does well on Valentine's Day, any extra revenue will push it further away from Avatar: The Way of Water, which is currently number six on the list of highest-grossing movies with $2,024 billion and counting.
What’s most impressive about all these records is that Cameron has three movies among the highest earners ever, including the first Avatar as undisputed number one. With that kind of track record, it’s no wonder Avatar 3 is already a guarantee for 2024, with at least two more sequels in the cards.
Titanic will be rereleased in theaters on February 14, 2023.
Source: SiriusXM | YouTube