‘Titanic’ Steams Past ‘E.T.’ as No. 2 Top-Grossing Film

“Titanic” topped “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” as the No. 2 domestic best-selling film of all time, industry experts said Sunday.

The ocean liner epic topped the North American box office with $21 million over the weekend for a 10-week total of $402.5 million, beating the “E.T” take of $399.8 million.

James Cameron’s three-hour-plus epic now lags behind only “Star Wars,” which has taken in $461 million at North American theaters since it opened in 1977. That includes the gross from its re-release in a refurbished version last year.

“Titanic” has 14 Academy Award nominations, including best picture.

“At its present rate, it should top ‘Star Wars’ before the Oscar awards [on March 23], and that would give it another boost,” said Robert Bucksbaum, publisher of Reel Source, a weekly industry newsletter.

Another phenomenon is the resurgence of the “date crowd” movie, Bucksbaum said, meaning romantic, nonviolent films with wide audience appeal.

That category included “The Wedding Singer,” which was No. 2 with $12.7 million, according to Exhibitor Relations. The comedy is about the romance between a singer played by Adam Sandler and a waitress, portrayed by Drew Barrymore.

“Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore sort of represent everybody in this film; they are the ‘everypeople’ characters. They are charming,” said Al Shapiro, president of domestic distribution for New Line Cinema, which produced the movie.

“The material is just so delightful, it’s striking people in different age groups in many ways,” said Steve Elzer, vice president of publicity for New Line Cinema. “Maybe it’s the 1985 time period it’s set in. It’s a great comedy, something people are embracing very quickly.”

“Sphere,” a futuristic underwater thriller starring Sharon Stone, Dustin Hoffman and Samuel L. Jackson, dropped 56% in its second week to place No. 3 with a gross of $7.3 million.

“Good Will Hunting,” an Oscar nominee for best picture, was fourth with $6.4 million.

Other best picture nominees also stayed in the top 10.

“As Good as It Gets,” which was honored Saturday night by both branches of the Writers Guild of America for best original screenplay, was sixth, and “L.A. Confidential,” honored by the Writer’s Guild for best screenplay on material previously produced or published, was 10th. Final figures were to be released today.