“I’ll never let go, Jack. I’ll never let go.” — Rose.

This quote reigns true for global audiences and they could never let go of the classic romance/drama film, Titanic (1997). When this movie was released 25 years ago, fans were immediately obsessed with it. The love story between Rose and Jack, the details of the ship, and the overall story of the Titanic sold it to people. The movie is based on the true sinking ship in April 1912. It wasn’t until recently that it was revealed that Rose and Jack were not real people on the Titanic. They were just simply two characters created for the story. When production began in 1995, the movie’s budget was set at 200 million dollars. At first, people were skeptical of the tragedy being made into a film, but this skepticism was not matched when box office sales reached 2.225 billion dollars. The public was mainly interested because the famed 90s heartthrob, Leonardo Dicaprio was starring as the male lead, Jack Dawn. Dicaprio acquired his fame from movies such as What’s Eating Gilbert Grape and Marvins Room. 

With the film’s success over the past 25 years, fans wanted more. A sequel to the Titanic, if you will. The director, James Cameron immediately shut these requests down. In 2010, a sequel was released under a new director, Shane Van Dyke. The public does not count this film as canon to the original story. “Titanic II” did not do well on IMDb ratings, receiving a 1.6/10 and only 57% of google users liked the movie. The synopsis states, “A cruise liner sets sail on the 100th anniversary of the Titanic’s doomed maiden voyage. When a tsunami hurls an iceberg into the ship’s path, the crew and passengers struggle to avoid suffering the same fate as their predecessors.” 

Earlier this year, a news source confirmed that Titanic would make its return to the big screen for its 25th anniversary. It was convenient timing for Cameron though. He also directed the sequel to the 2009 sci-fi/action film, Avatar, with the sequel– Avatar: The Way of Water. The sequel did very well at the box office receiving 2.217 billion dollars. James Cameron explained how Titanic would return to theaters remastered in 4-D. The production team did something similar in 2012, for the 100-year anniversary of the original sinking. Fans are very excited to re-watch the iconic romance film in 4-D and a higher frame rate. It is expected to be a large success at the box office after it was released on February 8, 2023.