‘Titanic’ May Swamp ‘Star Wars’ Soon

By this time next week, “Titanic” could be the all-time North American box office champion.

The record of $461 million belongs to “Star Wars,” the 1977 epic that added to its total with an updated 20th-anniversary rerelease last year. Industry experts said “Titanic” will end the “Star Wars” run at No. 1.

“It’s going to blow right past it,” predicted Art Rockwell of Rockwell Capital Management in Los Angeles.

U.S. and Canadian earnings for “Titanic” already exceed $427 million, and analysts suggested that figure eventually could reach $600 million.

The saga of the sinking ship earned $19.7 million over the weekend, the first time receipts totaled less than $20 million. But attendance dropped only 7 percent over last week even with four new movies in wide release, Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. said Sunday.

The best-selling of the debut films was futuristic thriller “Dark City,” which was No. 4 with $5.5 million.