Awakenings: The Titanic Sails & Sinks...Again

Saturday, December 19, 2015

The Titanic Sails & Sinks...Again

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanic_%281997_film%29

This Day in History:
December 19, 1997

The Titanic. Its history is of epic proportion from the time of its inception to its shattering ending. On this day in 1997, the Titanic sailed once again but this time on the silver screen depicting the historical events surrounding its beginning and its tragic end with a Hollywood love story thrown into the mix for benefit of the world's captive audience. After all, what is more enticing...recapture of a historical event or a love story? Throw them both together and its hard to not produce a winner. This has been proven over and over...From Here to Eternity, Gone With the Wind, Pearl Harbor, etc.

If you were asked what you remembered most would your answer cover the plights of the soldiers in From Here to Eternity, devastation brought about by civil war in Gone With the Wind, the sights, sounds, smells of war depicted in Pearl Harbor OR the love affairs between Burt Lancaster (Sergeant Warden) and Deborah Kerr (Karen); Clark Gable (Rhett) and Janet Leigh (Scarlet); Josh Hartnett (Danny), Ben Affleck (Rafe) and Kate Beckinsale (Evelyn)? The answers are definitely no-brainers! Similarly are the same questions about Titanic...which stands out in your mind, the number of passengers who succumbed as a result of the sinking of the Titanic OR the love affair between Leonardo DiCaprio (Jack) and Kate Winslet (Rose)? Another no-brainer!

Titanic will go on to become the highest-grossing movie in history...true or false?

The combination of fact and fiction makes for a great story not only for purposes of entertainment but also for gross sales! According to History.com, "it (Titanic) will go on to become the highest-grossing movie in history." It is not absolutely clear how much Gone with the Wind earned from its initial release. The Birth of a Nation, Gone with the Wind, The Godfather, Jaws, Star Wars, E.T. and Avatar all increased their record grosses with re-releases. Some of the older films that held the record of highest-grossing film still have respectable grosses even by today's standards, but do not really compete against today's top-earners: Gone with the Wind for instance—which was the highest-grossing film for twenty-five years—does not even make the top fifty in the modern market, but, adjusted for inflation, it would still be the highest-grossing film.

So, what is the highest grossing film in history? Difficult to pinpoint when theatrical venues are not the only dollars to be taken into account. Consideration must also be given to home video and television income, which can form a significant portion of a film's earnings. More info...