Moviegoers Flock To See ‘Titanic’ Launch
The epic love story “Titanic” sailed into the No. 1 spot at the box office, earning $27.6 million in ticket sales during its opening weekend.
Close behind at No. 2 was Pierce Brosnan starring as British agent 007 in “Tomorrow Never Dies” taking in $26 million, according to industry estimates Sunday.
“Titanic” fell $5.4 million short of the record December opening set by “Scream 2,” but it appeared on fewer screens, was screened fewer times per day because of its length and faced tougher competition.
The three-hour, 15-minute love story set on the disastrous 1912 maiden voyage of the luxury liner is the most expensive movie ever made at $200 million. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio and is directed by James Cameron of “Terminator” fame.
“You have Jim Cameron, one of the most successful filmmakers of his day, Leo DiCaprio, who couldn’t be hotter, and a story so well known. We’ve had great elements to work with from day one,” said Rob Friedman, vice chairman of Paramount Motion Picture Group, which is releasing “Titanic” domestically. Twentieth Century Fox is handling overseas distribution.
The new James Bond film dominated the young adult male market, pulling audience away from “Scream 2.” In its second week, the horror sequel had $14 million in ticket sales - a 64 percent drop - and fell from first to third place.
“Titanic” managed to draw a mixed audience - 57 percent female and 55 percent in the 25-and-older category.
Friedman said exit polls were “amazing; the ‘definitelyrecommends’ were phenomenal.”
The debut of the comedy “MouseHunt,” DreamWorks’ third release, was a disappointing fourth place with $6.3 million, because of heavy competition from several other family-oriented movies, including “Home Alone 3,” which finished eighth with $3.25 million.
The second DreamWorks movie in current release, “Amistad,” based on the true story about mutiny aboard a slave ship, tied for sixth place with “For Richer or Poorer.” Both movies made $3.3 million, but “Amistad” was on only 480 screens.