‘Titanic’ Loses Some Steam (but Very Little)

“Titanic” topped the movie box office for an eighth weekend and replaced “Forrest Gump” as the fourth-highest-grossing domestic release of all time, according to industry estimates Sunday.

The apparently unsinkable disaster epic grossed $23.2 million--the first weekend that it has taken in less that $25 million. The total still was nearly three times that of “The Replacement Killers,” which opened in second place.

“Titanic,” a joint presentation of Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox, has grossed $337.5 million, compared to $329.7 million for “Gump,” as it continues to steadily move up the list of all-time top-grossing films at the North American box office.

“Titanic” could receive another boost up that list if, as expected, it receives a number of Academy Award nominations, which will be announced Tuesday.

“We have an idea where it might be the weekend after that--No. 3,” said Paramount spokesman Blaise Noto.

The top-grossing film of all time is “Star Wars,” with $461 million; it is followed by the Steven Spielberg epics “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” ($399.8 million) and “Jurassic Park” ($357.1 million).

“The Replacement Killers,” a Sony/Columbia Pictures release starring Oscar winner Mira Sorvino and Hong Kong action star Chow Yun-Fat, racked up ticket sales of $8.1 million.

The only other new film in wide release was Universal Pictures’ “Blues Brothers 2000,” with Dan Aykroyd and John Goodman teaming in a sequel to the 1980 film. It grossed $6.5 million for fourth place.

Miramax Films’ “Good Will Hunting” finished third, with an estimated gross of $6.8 million, to push its total to $68.2 million in 10 weeks.

“It’s been between No. 2 and No. 3 since it’s gone wide. Word of mouth on the film is terrific,” said David Kaminow, Miramax’s senior vice president of marketing. “We’re looking toward what it does for Oscar nominations.”

Fox’s “Great Expectations” was No. 5 with $5.5 million. Ticket sales in its second weekend dropped 43% from its opening, a decline that is considered about average.

Other films in the weekend’s Top 10 were Sony/TriStar’s “As Good as It Gets,” in sixth, with $5.1 million; Columbia’s “Spice World,” $4 million; New Line Cinema’s “Wag the Dog,” $3.5 million; TriStar’s “Desperate Measures,” $3 million; and Hollywood Pictures’ “Deep Rising,” $2.4 million.

All weekend results are estimates. Final figures are to be released today.