By: Sara Florez
“I’ll never let go Jack, I’ll never let go.”
That was one of the most famous lines from Titanic, a movie that turns 20 years old today.
If by chance you haven’t seen this movie, there are spoilers ahead.
Grossing over $28 million in its opening weekend back in 1997, Titanic became one of the highest grossing movies of all-time, making $600 million overall.
“It birthed a whole era of disaster films,” said deputy arts and film editor for the Globe and Mail Barry Hertz. “Its production budget was one for the record books. It easily surpassed $100 million. At that point, not a lot of films really did that. Now, a $100 million production budget is nothing,”
This makes me feel old. Titanic debuted in theaters 20 years ago today. #Titanic20Years #MorningsOn1 pic.twitter.com/XWYnc42onM
— Jamie Stelter (@JamieStelter) December 19, 2017
As well as winning 11 Academy Awards, Canadian director James Cameron’s film is now in the National Film Registry, selected by the Library of Congress.
Early in December, the film was available to be seen in all Dolby Cinemas at AMC locations, in the U.S.
“It went on to great Academy Awards success the following year, critical love was certainly there,” Hertz said.
Although the film did well in theatres, critics were worried it wasn’t going to be a success.
“People were skeptical of it just because for anyone following its production, there were numerous delays. It was the most expensive movie at that time ever made,” Hertz said. “The subject matter just provided a great metaphor for its oncoming disaster. A lot of skepticism.
“What happens with a lot of James Cameron films is that there’s a lot of cynical expectation that it’s going to blow up, but then it ends up just ‘wowing’ everyone,” he said.
Titanic stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, who played the young lead roles of Jack and Rose. The two actors emerged as one of Hollywood’s favourite duos after the movie.
If you have still not seen this movie it is available for streaming on Netflix.