In December 1997, more than a decade before taking audiences to the beautiful, wild, and dangerous world of Pandora in AVATAR, a movie that would become, and still remains, the highest grossing film of all time, James Cameron took millions of moviegoers back in time to experience the massive love story that was TITANIC. The movie, which was one part romantic drama anchored by then-up-and-coming stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, and one part disaster epic, was an inescapable behemoth at the box office, and it still remains one of the top earners a quarter-century later.
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the release of TITANIC, James Cameron is bringing his timeless classic back to the big screen once again. But, when it returns to AMC Theatres on February 10th, the Academy Award®-winning film will be presented like never before in state-of-the-art 3D with sound so sophisticated it will feel as if you are aboard the massive ship on its maiden, and ultimately final, journey.
Here is everything you need to know about the return of TITANIC.
Presented In 3D 4K HDR With High Frame Rate And Dolby Atmos Sound
When TITANIC returns to AMC Theatres for the special 25th anniversary presentation, it will look like a whole new movie. Though the film was previously given a 3D re-release to celebrate its 15th anniversary in 2012, the technological advancements that have been made over the course of the past decade will set it apart.
This time around, TITANIC will not only be presented in 3D, it will also be shown in 4K HDR with high frame rate, the technological advances that made James Cameron’s AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER look and feel lightyears ahead of what had been done in the past. But, Cameron and company didn’t stop with visuals, as the movie’s audio will be played with Dolby Atmos, a state-of-the-art sound system that takes audiences out of the theatre and into the action.
When TITANIC returns to AMC Theatres, audiences will have the opportunity to watch it in a variety of ways, including IMAX 3D, Dolby Cinema 3D, and RealD 3D, depending on their specific location.
“As If You’re Seeing The Film For The First Time”
Though no new scenes are being added to TITANIC and the movie will keep its 195-minute runtime, James Cameron explained on the movie’s official Twitter account that due to the advancements made in presenting the film, the 25th anniversary re-release will level the playing field and be as if everyone who sees it is watching the movie for the first time, saying, “So, even if you’ve seen the movie before, this version will make you feel as if you’re seeing the film for the first time.”
This presentation will surely make some of the movie’s more iconic scenes just as memorable, with moments like Jack Dawson proclaiming “I’m the king of the world!”, Rose’s daring rescue on the stern of the ship, and the epic sinking sequence quickly coming to mind.
A Valentine’s Day Release
TITANIC was originally released on December 19, 1997, so why is the 25th anniversary engagement coming in February 2023 instead of late last year? Well, during an appearance on the “Jess Cagle Show” on Sirius XM in January 2023, James Cameron revealed that even though the movie came out in December 1997, TITANIC had its biggest day at the box office on Valentine’s Day 1998, which was nearly two months after its initial release, stating, “The date that made sense to me was Valentine’s Day because in the original release, which was ‘97 into ‘98 … the highest grossing single day of the release was Valentine’s Day, kind of obvious why, but very usual for a film that’s been in the marketplace for two months to have its biggest single performing day.”
According to BoxOfficeMojo, TITANIC pulled in a little more than $13 million domestically on Saturday, February 14, 1998, nearly $5 million more than it generated opening night.
A New Generation Of Moviegoers
Though millions of people saw TITANIC on the big screen during its original run 25 years ago, and others were given the opportunity to do so with its 2012 3D re-release, there is still an entire generation who hasn’t yet gotten to experience the movie on the big screen. This is one of the reasons James Cameron wanted to come out with a 25th anniversary edition, as he told the “Jess Cagle Show," “We thought there’s another kind of half generation of people that haven’t seen TITANIC in a movie theatre and maybe a bunch of nostalgia for it amongst people that have seen it in a movie theatre or have always wanted to.”
Will millions of people come out and see TITANIC on the big screen with the latest re-release? It’s hard to tell, but even if a fraction of the audience that turned out originally shows up to see how the epic love story looks in 3D with stunning 4K HDR visuals, then it will be a success for Cameron and the movie industry.
TITANIC opens on February 10th
