25 years of ‘Titanic’: how the movie became a key point in film history

Get ready to sing and cry to ‘My Heart Will Go On’ once again. In honor of ‘Titanic’s’ 25th anniversary, a remastered version of the film will be re-released in theaters in 3D 4K HDR and high-frame-rate.

To celebrate the anniversary of the film we put together the history of the iconic film and how it came to be.

How much did Titanic make

‘Titanic’ shocked everyone when the three-hour movie with a cast of unknown actors at the time, managed to be released in 3,265 theaters and make around $1 billion worldwide.

When filming the movie James Cameron and crew had a budget of $200 million, which resulted in the director forfeiting his salary and gross percentage points in order to finish the film given they had maxed-out their finances.

The film was believed to be doomed due to its lack of star power, the fact that its initial release date in 1997 was pushed back and that studios invested an enormous amount of money and time into the project with no idea what the outcome would be.

Awards and achievements

Following its initial release in 1997, the film went on to become the number one all-time global box office champ. It now sits as the third highest-grossing film worldwide behind the 2019 movie ‘Avengers: Endgame’ and one of Cameron’s other films, ‘Avatar’, released in 2009.

Along with the film’s popularity came a lot of recognition. ‘Titanic’ went on to be nominated for close to 200 awards and won 126 of them, which includes a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role by Gloria Stuart, an American Music Award for Top Soundtrack, two ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards for Most Performed Songs from Motion Pictures and Top Box Office Films, and a record 11 Academy Awards for categories such as Best Picture, Best Director, Best Costume Design, Best Effects, Visual Effects, Best Music, Original Song and more.

Where is the Titanic cast now

In a recent interview with Deadline, Cameron said that without his perfect Jack Dawson and Rose DeWitt Bukater, the film just wouldn’t be the same as it is now.

“You think at any one of those places, if that had really kind of frayed apart, it would have been somebody else and it wouldn’t have been that film,” he explained. “And I can’t imagine that film without him and without her.”

They may have been just starting their careers back then, but Jack and Rose actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet have gone on to make their marks in the entertainment industry.

Leonardo Di Caprio

When DiCaprio booked his role in ‘Titanic’ at just 20 years of age he had already starred in a few films and TV shows, but his performance as Jack threw him straight into the Hollywood spotlight.

Since then he has gone on to star in over 43 films and shows, some of which include: ‘Inception’, ‘Shutter Island’, ‘Catch Me If You Can’, ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’, ‘The Great Gatsby’ and more. He even started his foundation (Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation) and won his first Oscar Award for his performance in the 2015 film ‘The Revenant’.

Kate Winslet

Before booking her role in ‘Titanic’, Winslet was making a name for herself in the period genre, but it wasn’t until she played Kate that she had what many consider her breakout role. Her performance in ‘Titanic’ earned her five awards, and she later went on to star in close to 70 films and shows such as ‘Finding Neverland’, ‘The Divergent series’, ‘Collateral Beauty’, ‘All the King’s Men’, ‘Mare of Easttown’ and most recently ‘Avatar: The Way of the Water’, where she joined forces with Cameron again.

The trailer and new poster for the 25th-anniversary re-release were shared on Paramount Pictures socials and the film will be open for the public to watch in theaters on February 10.