‘Titanic’ Steers for Sixth on the List

“Titanic” the movie has yet to hit any icebergs on its remarkable run at the box office. Through last weekend, director James Cameron’s epic disaster-love story had grossed $308.1 million (more than $600 million worldwide) to become the seventh-highest grossing domestic film ever. “Titanic” swept past the previous No. 7 “Independence Day” ($306.2 million) and is now in a position to eclipse No. 6 “Return of the Jedi” ($309.2 million), No. 5 “The Lion King” ($312.9 million) and No. 4 “Forrest Gump” ($329.7 million). “Star Wars” leads all films with $461 million in domestic box office.

This was the seventh week that “Titanic” topped the box-office charts. In 1990, “Home Alone” was the No. 1 movie in America for 12 weeks in a row, ending up at $286 million. “Titanic” has grossed in excess of $25 million every weekend since its Dec. 19 release.

Meanwhile, “True Friends,” a film based on the real-life experiences of three buddies growing up in the Bronx, N.Y., that was shot on a shoestring budget with virtually no advertising to speak of, took in $15,475 at five Los Angeles-area theaters for a per-screen average of $3,095. The filmmakers borrowed on their credit cards and from family and friends to make the movie, even standing outside theaters greeting passersby inviting them to see the film.

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Weekend Box Office

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Three-day gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “Titanic” $25.9 2,853 7 (Paramount/Fox) $308.1 $9,081 2. “Great Expectations” $9.6 1,867 1 (Fox) $9.6 $5,138 3. “Good Will Hunting” $8.4 1,831 9 (Miramax) $59.5 $4,605 4. “Spice World” $7.0 2,339 2 (Sony/Columbia) $19.0 $3,005 5. “As Good as It Gets” $6.6 1,778 6 (Sony/TriStar) $85.6 $3,717 6. “Desperate Measures” $5.8 1,963 1 (Sony/TriStar) $5.8 $2,972 7. “Wag the Dog” $4.8 1,685 6 (New Line) $29.5 $2,834 8. “Deep Rising” $4.7 1,758 1 (Disney/Hollywood) $4.7 $2,695 9. “Fallen” $2.8 2,150 3 (Warner Bros.) $21.4 $1,314 10. “Hard Rain” $2.7 2,132 3 (Paramount) $16.6 $1,260 “True Friends” $15,475 5 1 (2nd Generation) $15,475 $3,096

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SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.