James Cameron Was Scared His Career Would Be Over After ‘Titanic’, Took 1 Thing From Movie Set After Massive $2.2 Billion Success
James Cameron is one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. He has helmed films in practically every genre throughout his more than four-decade Hollywood career. The renowned director is known for some of the greatest box office hits ever, from epic romantic tragedies like Titanic to violent sci-fi action thrillers like Terminator and Alita: Battle Angel.
Cameron is the only director in the history of cinema to have three films in the billion-dollar club. He has gone to great lengths to make his movies what they are. He is renowned for his film Titanic. The love story of Jack and Rose has always amazed and shocked fans. Titanic was a massive success at the box office, but James Cameron was skeptical about the film. After its success on the silver screen, the director took a souvenir with him from the set as a symbol of his hard work.
James Cameron took one souvenir from the Titanic set
Titanic, directed by James Cameron and starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead, was released in 1997 and is based on the story of the Titanic’s sinking in 1912. The film touched the hearts of viewers with an epic tale of love between Jack and Rose. The film received a lot of praise for the actors’ performances as well as for its visual appeal, directing, score, story, and how masterfully it was able to capture the audience’s hearts.
Titanic was the first film to gross one billion dollars and one of the highest-grossing films ever made. However, Cameron was once doubtful of Titanic‘s commercial success. Some people even prepared for the movie to bomb and expected it to fail. The filmmaker admitted,
“When I was in the last six months of finishing the film, I knew my career was over, I knew we weren’t going to make a dime, I knew that we had put a gigantic dent in 20th Century Fox’s treasury, and that I would never be forgiven for the rest of my life.”
The film was pushed back several times before its release date. But after landing in theaters, Titanic broke the record at the box office. Fans loved Winslet and DiCaprio’s chemistry. To remember the hard work he put into the movie, the director brought a souvenir from the set as a symbol. He took home the ship wheel. It served as a reminder of the somewhat arduous process of making films. He revealed,
“I keep this in my office because I know what it feels like to be at the helm of a sinking ship. Which is what it feels like on every movie that I make.”
Cameron produced more popular films than Titanic. Before the romance drama, he was in charge of successful projects like The Terminator. He thought that the fact that Titanic was so closely associated with the actual 1912 catastrophe helped to extend its memory beyond prior films.
The success of James Cameron’s Titanic at the box office
Titanic is one of the most cherished love stories among fans, even after 25 years of its release. The film, directed by James Cameron, traced the love story of Rose and Jack, and was declared one of the biggest hits at the box office after its release.
The movie’s budget was originally set at $110 million, but the cost of building a new sound stage with horizon tanks to simulate the appearance of the ocean caused it to rise to $200 million and then to $295 million.
As per the reports the movie opened by earning $28,638,131 during its very first weekend. In total, the movie made a box office collection of $2.2 billion worldwide.
Titanic is available to stream on Paramount+.
Source: CBS News
