‘Titanic,’ ‘Man in Iron Mask’ in a Weekend Deadlock

The box-office joust between Leonardo DiCaprio the king and DiCaprio the pauper yielded no immediate winner Sunday as “The Man in the Iron Mask” and “Titanic” tied for the coveted No. 1 spot.

“Titanic” passed “Star Wars” to become the top-grossing domestic film of all time but failed to trounce the new release, with both taking in $17.5 million for the weekend, according to preliminary results announced by Exhibitor Relations Co. Final figures are to be released today.

Many industry observers had predicted that the premiere of the swashbuckler saga would finally end the 12-week domination of “Titanic.”

“I think it’s absolutely incredible that ‘Titanic’ continues to show this strength,” said Art Rockwell, an entertainment analyst with Yeager Capital Markets. “I think the people at MGM have to be a little disappointed [“The Man in the Iron Mask”] didn’t oust it.”

“Titanic,” a joint presentation of Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox, stars DiCaprio as an impoverished but carefree artist. It was expected to have grossed at least $467 million at the North American box office, pushing it past the $461 million racked up by 20th Century Fox’s “Star Wars” in 1977 and during its re-release last year.

Larry Gleason, president of worldwide distribution for MGM/UA, said he was pleased with the success of “The Man in the Iron Mask,” a Three Musketeers drama starring DiCaprio in dual roles as an evil king and his imprisoned brother.

Gleason said he was eager to see the final box-office results.

“It’s like a horse race,” he said. “We both hit the line at the same time and we’ve got to wait for the photo to be developed.”

Should “Titanic” retain the top spot domestically for a 13th week, it will match the record shared by “Beverly Hills Cop” (1984) and “Tootsie” (1982).

“The Man in the Iron Mask” was expected to be popular among male moviegoers for its swordplay and heroics, but Gleason said the audience was enlarged by DiCaprio’s teen-idol popularity with women.

“We’re getting like 55% of our audience is females. So Leo’s stuff really works great on that,” Gleason said. “It was always intended to make the king young to appeal to a younger audience. Leonardo has made that exceed our expectations.”

Warner Bros.’ “U.S. Marshals” followed the dueling films with projected ticket sales of $11.5 million in its second weekend.

Miramax Films’ Oscar-nominated “Good Will Hunting” was next with $4.8 million. New Line Cinema’s “The Wedding Singer,” starring Adam Sandler, came in at No. 5 with $4.6 million. “The Big Lebowski,” the new film from Joel and Ethan Coen, placed sixth with $3.5 million in its second weekend of release.

Sony/TriStar Pictures’ “Hush” and Paramount’s “Twilight” tied with $3.3 million, both pictures in their second weekend of release. Sony/TriStar’s “As Good as It Gets,” the Oscar-nominated film directed by James L. Brooks, followed with $3.1 million. PolyGram Films’ “The Borrowers” and New Line’s “Dark City” rounded out the list with $1.6 million each.

Other than “The Man in the Iron Mask,” the only new film to open nationally was “Chairman of the Board” (see review, F5). The Trimark Pictures release, the film debut of comedian Carrot Top, appeared on 196 screens for total estimated tickets sales of $150,000.