The Movie Titanic

The movie Titanic was produced by James Cameron and was released on December 19th, 1997. The opening weekend for this movie generated over 28.6 million dollars. The New York Times wrote that the surprising success of Titanic has already rewritten the rules of Hollywood film making. The Spectacular performance of Titanic- now the No. 3 domestic box-office attraction of all time, with ticket sales of $376.4 million (Elliott). They never thought this terrific but heartbreaking film to be such a hit, with over 1,500 people dying and a length of 3 hours and 15 minutes. One of the film's executive producer stated, nobody anticipated the level of success. However, the film Titanic, produced by James Cameron, was distributed worldwide and did very well internationally because this event is considered a worldwide tragedy, was filmed, advertised well and was shown worldwide, and was easy to relate to.

To begin, the film Titanic was such a hit internationally because the sinking of the Titanic was considered a worldwide tragedy that has created an interest for many people for decades. Ever since the sinking of the ship happened it has remained a mystery. Since there is only little evidence of what actually happened on April 14, 1912, the viewers got to experience what the people on the ship had to go through. The sinking was realistic even though the movie is based around a fictional romance.

Throughout the movie, the viewers got to see actual footage and clips from the day the ship sunk. This gave the viewers a more realistic feel of what it looked like. Titanic did so well with international audiences because of the realistic elements that James Cameron carefully planned out that infatuated millions of people around the world. The set for this movie was created in 100 days in Baja, Mexico. The Titanic movie set is in Mexico and can be visited. The public can walk through certain scenes of this movie which really makes them feel as if they apart of it. James Cameron's ability to make the viewers feel as if they apart of the movie and what happened on the boat plays a huge role in why the movie was so successful.

Moreover, Titanic is also considered a global success because it was produced, filmed, and shown all over the globe. The key to a successful movie is to have different aspects of the film from all around the world. According to Lane Crothers in the book Globalization and American Popular Culture, a big Hollywood blockbuster movie may have been financing from businesspeople outside the United States, have an international cast and locations, include special effects made from outside the U.S., be distributed in dozens of countries through local distribution companies, and make more than 80% of its revenues abroad (Crothers). Titanic fits this description, with a few of the locations where this film was shot was in Canada, Mexico, and in the North Atlantic Ocean (IMDB). With that being said, it allowed for the film to have an international feel.

It has been translated to over thirty different languages so viewers all around can enjoy this film. This greatly added to the international success of the film, with people being able to enjoy the story of Jack and Rose from all around the world (IMDB). Throughout the making of this film the budget was about 200 million dollars. The producers were worried that they would not make a profit for this movie. It was a surprise to them since the 22 years that it has been released, the gross profit is almost 2.2 billion dollars. To this day, it is still considered one of the most successful Hollywood blockbusters. This film has produced more revenue internationally than in the United States. Since 1997, the U.S. generated close to 658.7 million dollars and internationally the film has earned over 1.5 billion dollars. The majority of this films profit was not from the U.S. (IMDB). These numbers prove that Titanic was not only a hit in the United States but was also an internationally success and loved by many different people around the world.

To continue, the Titanic had such an international success because it was easy for viewers to relate to. People all around the world can relate to a love story with tragedy. All fairy tales about love and romance usually end in happy ending, which at times is not very relatable. With that being said, the tragic ending in the Titanic helped create the international success because people tend to relate to a tragedy better than a happy ending since in real life every ending is not happy. Another theme that made this an international success in the idea of the American Dream. As stated in the book Globalization and American Popular Culture, much of the film's success derives from the ways the values of American popular culture emerge in the movie.

They provide a transparent foundation on which others can build their interpretations of the film's significance in their lives (Crothers). The main character Jack, is on his way to America to find a better life, which is an illustration of the American Dream. We also see poverty through Jack who is romantic, loving, engaging, poetic, artistically talented, self-sacrificing, heroic, and above all, happy. Jack is self-made, self-confident, and successful in the most important ways (Crothers p.61).

Viewers around the globe were interested in the plot of the American Dream and determination of character Jack Dawson. Another reason why the film was easily to relate to was that the majority of the film is set in the Northern Atlantic Ocean and the film includes characters from all around the world. The two main characters, Jack and Rose, are American, although there are other characters who are Irish and British. The fact that this film is not set in a certain country but in international waters, allows for viewers to all around the world to enjoy this film without feeling like they didn't belong with the culture. With the diversity of the characters, people from other countries felt like they were included in the story line. James Cameron was able to grab the viewers' attention and crafted a film that people could relate to.

To conclude, Titanic is one of the most successful movies of all time. This film brought the interest of so many individuals worldwide that a replica ship is being built that resembles the original Titanic and will set sail as soon as 2022. The Titanic is an international success through its captivating history, box office success, and its relatable plot. In Crothers book he wrote that the film's popularity rests at least in part on the values and variables of American popular culture. The irrelevance of class, the importance of individualism, the lure of capitalism, and the distribution of talent across society are all foundations of American civic culture. In reflecting them, Titanic told a story that reached out the world. The world responded (Crothers 63). The film brought to life the sinking of the ship and started the worldwide interest of the Titanic.

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