Fifteen years ago, the Oscar-winning movie Titanic was released. It became one of the highest grossing films of all time. Three years before the Titanic hit theatres, The Lion King was released. It became one of Walt Disney’s classic animated films. And in 1991, another Disney classic, Beauty and the Beast, was released. While most of us grew up with these classics forever ingrained in our brains, we recently got to revisit our childhood as these films were re-released in theaters.
Most of us were likely no older than eight when Titanic was first released in December of 1997. The film will forever be linked to award-winning director James Cameron. It won 11 Academy Awards (tied with two other films for most Oscar wins ever), three additional Oscar nominations and many other awards.
Titanic was re-released on April 4, 2012, falling eight days short of the 100th anniversary of its sinking. This time, however, Titanic came back in 3D, combining the modern movie world with this historical classic. Watching this movie on the big screen years after it was released not only brought back memories of parents fast-forwarding through the sex scene – it also reminded us, “Why in the hell didn’t Rose move over?” While we may never know the answer to this question, and while this question may not have been relevant when we were eight years old watching the 194-minute tragedy, it is certainly something that sticks with us now. As shown by the diagram above, we are obviously not alone in questioning Rose’s thought process. Regardless of never understanding just why Jack had to die, it was clear this film was made for the big screen. Even fifteen years after its original release, the film managed to bring in an incredible $52.9 million at the box office, and brought the film to the forefront of highest grossing movies, earning more than $2 billion dollars in total. Only two films in history have reached this amount, Titanic and Avatar, also directed by James Cameron.
Titanic is not alone in its recent, successful re-release. Two classic Disney films, The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast were back on the big screen in 3D as well. The Lion King was released for a limited two-week period on September 16, 2011, and brought in a number one box office ranking, and a total of $30.2 million in it’s opening weekend. As a child growing up with Disney movies like The Lion King, all you really remember is a bunch of talking animals and a few unforgettable songs.
Getting to see the movie again, eighteen years after it’s original release, you begin to realize why the film is the classic that it is, with its subtle adult humor and incredible plot. Following The Lion King’s remarkable success, Pixar and Disney planned to re-release four more movies: Beauty and the Beast, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc. and The Little Mermaid. Beauty and the Beast was released January 13, 2012 and made over $17 million dollars in its opening weekend. Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc. and The Little Mermaid will be in theaters sporadically over the next two years, hoping to continue this Disney movie revival.
While these re-releases of classic films from our childhood may lead one to question the lack of originality in the movie world, it is obvious people want to see their favorite movies back on the big screen. In the past, various films such as Star Wars have been re-released, but never have such a large quantity of films been re-released so close together, and been so successful. Of course, new movies are still coming out and a few remakes like the two new Snow White films that will open this summer. However, it appears the re-release trend is not going away any time soon, and if the success of such movies continues, we may be seeing a lot of our childhood back on the big screen in the near future.
Sources:
· http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4270835/3D-Titanic-reveals-Rose-DID-have-room-for-Jack-on-that-door.html (Jack & Rose diagram)
· http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lion_King (Lion King Picture)
· http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/titanic/
· http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=titanic.htm
· http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=beautyandthebeast3d.htm