Wow, guys... Episode II just might have a chance at #1

[JonathanLB]

Did anyone notice the MASSIVE ticket price inflation? That is one of, if not the most, sizeable inflation of ticket prices in US history. In 1999, supposedly tickets cost $5.08 by the end of the year (though I do not agree with ER in calculating TPM's total ticket sales by dividing the gross by $5.08 when the average ticket price at the start of the year was $4.75 and when it is a PG movie, but that's another issue). In a Variety article today, the paper says the following:

"Box office tracker ACNielsen EDI estimates movie-ticket prices currently average about $5.66, which means roughly 522 million tickets were sold this summer. That's 6% more than last summer."

That type of increase is far greater than even I had expected. In fact, I believe on this very forum I once wrote a formula chart that had several scenarios, the most generous inflation was $5.75 I think (which will be well below what ticket prices are NEXT summer when they are raised yet again, as always happens). Then, I had another scenario at $5.40, which I felt more accurately reflected the trend in inflation of ticket prices. I was evidently wrong there, unless there is deflation from now until next summer which does not seem likely at all. The theaters are still in bad shape, which is likely why, despite a troubled economy, ticket prices have been increasing at dramatic rates over the last few years (and even before the slip of the stock market).

Now, imagine the roughly 85 million tickets that TPM sold multiplied by $5.80 (as a very, very conservative average estimate for the ticket prices next summer). Keep in mind that TPM may have sold 90 to 95 million tickets because of discounted, children admissions, but going strictly by the numbers that ER has is most effective in this comparison because you cannot make assumptions about ticket sales, instead it is most useful to use existing formulas, as inaccurate as they might be (who knows).

So, 85 million times $5.80 is $493 million, assuming Episode II does just as well as TPM.

Now, assuming it does just slightly better, 90 million tickets, and ticket prices are in fact $6.00, you have a gross of $540 million. All this leads to the possibility that either Episode II or III, most likely because of inflation, will triumph over Titanic.

ESB sold 75 million tickets on its first release, which is the worst any Star Wars movie has done. There is no reason to believe that scenario should be repeated for Episode II, and there is even less cause or reason to believe it'll do the worst of every Star Wars film, so even if it sold 75 million tickets at a conservative $5.80, it would still make $435 million and narrowly pass TPM.

I hope I am not beating a dead horse here, which I know I probably am because we've had numerous other discussions on this, but I just found this particular inflation especially interesting (encouraging?). Although I would not give Episode II better than 5 to 1 odds of beating Titanic, I might be likely to give Episode III even money now.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I think you are on to something Jon. I would say EP3 has a decent chance of beating Titanic too not only because of the increased ticket prices but also because of it being THE LAST Star Wars movie which would defintely help its chances. I still think that EP2 will make at least 400 it could make closer to 500 it will depend greatly on word of mouth, critic's opinions, and interest of the film from the general population.

[JonathanLB]

I agree. I would still be somewhat surprised if Episode II cleared $500 million because that is a heck of a lot of money. I think maybe $475 million or so is a definite possibility and maybe more.

The fact that Episode III is the last Star Wars movie will have a major impact, I think. Even though it is a darker film, and people keep insisting somehow this means it'll do worse, ROTJ actually made more money than ANH at the box office in its first release and sold a great deal more tickets than ESB, so I think the "last movie" idea helped ROTJ a lot too. I think Episode III has a strong shot at taking Titanic down, but certainly if Episode II can make it to $525 million or so, that puts it in line to beat Titanic on a re-release maybe, and it sets Episode III up well too. We'll just have to see, but I'll be watching with great interest! :)

[buffjedi]

I really (maybe ot) think that the money aspect shouldnt be the factor of box office champ.I feel that ticket sales should be the deciding factor.More people went to see STARWARS (first run) than any other (first run) But the ticket prices in 77 was like 1.50 -2.00.when Et came out and surpassed SW , it was only due to Ticket price inflation.Now Titanic was a great movie BUT I have old newspaper ads from the 77-78 era That had SW being held over for like 90 weeks.Titanic never did that (I dont think). I still feel Eps2 will out gross and out sale Titanic regardless of inflation. I also feel Critics will DEEM EP 2 a worthy movie to go see.They bashed Ep 1 only out of jealousy or spite Due to the fact EP1 was so hyped.Same with the regular joe's ,when all you here is hype about something it makes alot of people resent it long before they even see it (I'm guilty of it).I fill the critic's have made there point and will say ,Hey It's not a great movie BUT worth watching. But i'm like Jon i'll be watching with great interest.

buffjedi2/wookieboy

[JonathanLB]

That's what most said about TPM, anyway. They all said it was worth seeing for the effects but that it wasn't a very good movie, or was very disappointing, lol. Whatever.

Computer Gaming World has this lame intro to their article on new SW games that says that it is a "SAD FACT" that the TPM games all sucked, and that "many people" were also disappointed with the movie. Of course, LucasArts also knew how much their games sucked, according to the magazine, and they wanted to make better games and make up for the TPM bomb or whatever.

Gee, that sounds sorta funny considering ALL of the TPM games sold extremely well and received mostly excellent reviews from critics. I really hate moronic commentary like that in a gaming magazine when the TPM games were in fact all quite good. I mean, what do you expect? Podracer was fun. It's a good game. What more is it going to be? It's a racing game, duh.

The new games, though, do look incredibly sweet. I cannot wait for Galaxies, specifically.

Anyway, back to the subject...

I would love to see Episode II or III beat Titanic just because of inflation. Nothing would make me happier than that. ANH already kicked Titanic's sorry butt in terms of ticket sales and the only reason Titanic made more money is because of the rising cost of tickets. When WE made that argument back in 1998, though, the Titanic fans were all like, "Oh that doesn't matter, you keep talking about inflation, but who cares!! Titanic RULZ! It's NUMBER ONE! IN YOUR FACE GEEKS," or whatever else the moronic teenage girls would say.

Now, I would just love to hear that one back, "Oh the only reason Episode II beat Titanic is because of inflation," and you'd say, "Gee, I seem to remember making that argument when Titanic beat the first Star Wars movie JUST BECAUSE OF INFLATION." Talk about shutting those idiots up!

The core Titanic fans are truly brainless individuals. They were all just a bunch of moronic teenage girls. Now, that is not to say if you liked Titanic you are a moron. Not at all. Actually, I "like" Titanic on one level because it IS a James Cameron film and plus, many people like Titanic. But the "die hard fans" were those silly little 12 to 15 year-old-girls seeing the film 10 times each and holding "cry parties" where they would listen to the music and start crying (this makes me sick, and I actually read this in USA Today once; THOSE IDIOTS!).

Some Star Trek fans may be nerdy, but heck at least they're not stupid and idiotic like Titanic's most die hard. The Trekkies are actually probably more intelligent than the average person. Most Star Trek fans I've known are really smart, but they just are not what you'd call "your average Joe," which is probably a good thing I suppose.

Ugg, Titanic annoys me to no end. I cannot wait to see its demise, at the hands of a Star Wars movie, no less.

[DaBoSsNaStY]

I believe Ep. II and III will pass the 500 million mark here in the U.S. It would be wonderful to see one of them shatter the 600 million mark that Titanic had made.

Now What would be fun to see that if they will pass the 1 billion mark at the world box office! that would be the icing on the cake!!!

[CMJ]

Actually near the end of TITANIC's run in theatres I read(in Variety I think) that it made more first fun than any other film, barely passing GWTW and SW:ANH. They had ANH at like 550 something and GWTW at 570 something with their first run figures. The rest of their massive totals were weighted with re-releases and such(GWTW has been released TONS of times for example). I'm not sure if Variety had it right...but they usually do have that kind of stuff right on the money.

[Jedieb]

Computer Gaming World has this lame intro to their article on new SW games that says that it is a "SAD FACT" that the TPM games all sucked, and that "many people" were also disappointed with the movie. Of course, LucasArts also knew how much their games sucked, according to the magazine, and they wanted to make better games and make up for the TPM bomb or whatever.

Gee, that sounds sorta funny considering ALL of the TPM games sold extremely well and received mostly excellent reviews from critics. I really hate moronic commentary like that in a gaming magazine when the TPM games were in fact all quite good. I mean, what do you expect? Podracer was fun. It's a good game. What more is it going to be? It's a racing game, duh.

That may be a bit overly harsh, but it's not too far off the mark. SW games have taken quite a few shots from gamers and gaming magazines over the last few years. I haven't always agreed with them, but I've heard the complaints and grumblings enough to know that there are a lot of dissastisfied SW gamers out there. For me games like Demolition and Masters of the Tera Sai(sp?) were a lot of fun, but bashed by many gamers. The actual TPM game was a big dissapointment for me and Jedi Power Battles was a much needed improvement. As for sales, well of course they sold well. Just about every SW game has sold well because of the SW name. Most of the time, that's enough to gaurantee a solid number of sales.


The core Titanic fans are truly brainless individuals. They were all just a bunch of moronic teenage girls.

And the core of SW fans is made up of dateless geeks who have never even kissed a girl. (Heavy sarcasm there) C'mon, I thought we were done with silly name calling ages ago. If teengage girls really were the core of Titanic's audience then the teenage boys who make up SW's audience should feel ashamed for letting those "girls" trounce them at the box office. ;)

EP2 $425M
EP3 $405M

However far off these guesses end up being, will they be as far off as the people who guessed EP1 would make $700M+? I doubt it. ;)

[Jedi Master Carr]

I thought most of the recent game were pretty good. Racer was one of the bests games that came out for TPM. It was a really fun game. The TPM game was okay, it could have been better. First it was just too short and Darth Maul was too easy. Power Battles was great. The best TPM game, IMO was Starfighter for PS2, it has some of the best graphics I have ever seen in a game.

[JonathanLB]

Yeah and almost EVERY critic and EVERY magazine called Starfighter one of the best flight games in existence. In fact, many publications even said it was reason enough to BUY a Playstation 2.

Most of the Star Wars games are awesome and these magazines who bash them are just being bitter. Anyway, all of the TPM games were far better than Rebel Assault and that kind of stuff. While I am glad for the success of the earlier Star Wars games, I thought they were pretty lame actually. I like PLAYING my games, not just watching them for ten minutes, then pushing a button, then watching again. That's all you did in Rebel Assault and those earlier games. Compared to TPM's software, they frickin' sucked!

Even TIE Fighter and X-Wing are only decent. They're enjoyable, but I played better games that were out at similar times or earlier. Nova Logic made Commanche in 1993 and that was a far better flight sim. game than the early Star Wars ones.

Jedieb, the majority of Star Wars fans are much more normal people than the cult of Star Trek fans or the (now probably extinct) group of Titanic fans. Many Star Wars "fans" are just normal six to ten year-old boys or whatever, but there are plenty of people who are in their 30's, married, regular people who happen to love Star Wars. Then there are, of course, the more extreme fans who more closely resemble Trekkie's than your average joe, but that's the minority. That's the die-hard within the die-hards, hehe.

Your predictions are very conservative, Jedieb. I am sure you hope you are wrong as much as I know you will be :)

Episode III will be the highest grossing Star Wars movie, I think.

CMJ is right that Titanic sold more tickets than ANH in its first release. Many factors contributed to that, though, and ANH's second release was only a year after its first. ANH sold 99.2 million tickets in its first release. There were less people in 1977, too...

[buffjedi]

Quote:There were less people in 1977, too... I love that :)

So titanic DID actually sell more tickets on the first run of SW?
if so I want a recount,I think the extra tickets where counted in florida ;)



buffjedi2/wookieboy

[CMJ]

Well if you wanna use that argument Jon then GWTW is REALLY at a disadvantage because there were WAY less people in 39 than now. I'd be willing to venture the population grew more from '39 to '77 than from '77 to 2001. Granted there's been several less years in those figures but nontheless it shows that GWTW was REALLY something else(at least BO wise).

[buffjedi]

Thats true BUT I dont think there was much BO competition in GWTW days!!???? I dunno just thought i'd throw that in :p
I do like Jon's way of thinking on this though.I truly do hope A SW movie over takes TITANIC (although I do) like Titanic A SW movie should be on top.Just like BEA Arthur :)




buffjedi2/wookieboy

[Jedieb]

The thing about GWTW is that it was released in a time when movies were more popular with the public than they are today. Going to the movies isn't as big or common an experience today as it once was. I remember hearing Roger Ebert talk about how kids in his generation use to pay a few cents and spend their entire Saturday at the cinema watching film serials. Does that happen today? No, because there are so many other choices available to consumers. Cable, video games, TV, etc.. TV was the real big hit to the prominence of movies. GWTW didn't have to compete with ER or The West Wing. Despite the fact that we have a much larger population today, we still don't sell as many tickets as we did in the 40's, 50's, and 60's. I believe we're doing much better than we did in the 70's (which I think was out low point in ticket sales), but we may not have reached the levels of Hollywood's golden age. And that's despite the increase in population.

Eventually we'll surpass those early ticket numbers, but we'll never see movies garner as big a percentage of our entertainment dollar as they once did. There's just too much out there. To give you a comparison, take Monday Night Football. People kept complaining about the low ratings MNF was getting. But they kept ignoring the fact that the show was ranking in the top 10, higher than it had in years. So why were the ratings down? Because in the days of Cosell MNF only went up against 30 shows. Today it competes against over 100. Movies are in the same boat.

Jon, I was just making a point about not pigeon holing Titanic fans. It's just not fair to say that about them, just like it's not fair to pigeon hole us. There were plenty of intelligent and successful women that got caught up in Titanic, not just girls.

I'l reserve my final EP2 guesses until I see what ticket prices are next season. But I'm going to base my guesses on lower ticket sales than TPM. No matter how much better AOTC is than TPM, there's an audience that AOTC won't have access to that TPM did. I'll probably talk about that later, cuz I gotta go right now.

[JonathanLB]

Yes, of course CMJ. That's exactly what I'm saying. It's unfair to say Gone With the Wind wasn't as big as Titanic because there were far fewer people in 1939 than in 1997, or 1977.

Anyway, the point is, I would say Gone With the Wind is the most successful movie in history at the box office. It's sold the most tickets by far, it's had numerous releases, and it is an old, classic film.

In time, maybe ten or twenty years, Star Wars will have sold more tickets and will be the ultimate king of the box office, but I'm willing to say that GWTW is definitely the most impressive.

If you consider how few theaters there were back then, how many fewer people there were to see the movie, and all of the other factors, then it's truly amazing how well it did.

Of course, let's not forget the obvious advantages that movies in the 1930's and 1940's had. The most obvious of all being that there were NOT very many movies released each year, so movies such as GWTW could stay in theaters for a very, very long time. That simply is not possible in today's crowded marketplace. Whereas movies used to play for, say, six months without any problem, now any movie that plays for 12 weeks in a significant number of regular theaters has done extremely well.

Also, people were sometimes more excited about movies in the "Golden Era" than they are now. It was more of a novelty. AND there was far less to do besides go to movies in 1939. There was no Internet distracting from moviegoing. There were no videogames. No computers. No VHS or any other format of home movies. Now, movies in theaters compete NOT only with other movies playing along side of them, but also with every other entertainment medium and with older movies that anyone can go rent at Blockbuster or Hollywood for far cheaper and see in the comfort of their own homes.

Because of these factors, attendance in modern days, as in right now, is actually LESS than what it was in the 1930's. So, if you thought more people go to the movies now than ever before, you'd actually be wrong. Far more people went to the movies in the 30's and 40's than do now. Also, when Variety said 1999's summer set an attendance record, they're talking about within their tracking dates, which goes back only to the early 1970's I believe.

It is the same case with a lot of so called "facts." It is a FACT that Titanic spent the most weeks at number one of any movie, right? WRONG! Actually, Star Wars spent NINETEEN weeks at number one during the summer of 1977 and into the fall, while Titanic's fifteen is a full month short of that. Not even close. The problem is that many organizations simply have a cutoff that says, "Any movie before 1980 is not considered in our database, therefore Titanic has the record." Fair to say Titanic has the modern record, yes, but I'm willing to bet Gone With the Wind spent far more weeks at number one than even Star Wars: A New Hope. Probably more like 25 to 35 weeks at number one.

[Dutchy]

I just KNOW I want to say something here, but I've been there done that SO many times before that I might not even bother this time. :)

Oh, one thing is for sure: I'll be watching EP2 and EP3's grosses with great interest too!

[Jedieb]

It looks like Jon and I were cranking out similiar posts about GWTW at practically the same time. That frightens me to the core. ;)

C'mon, Dutchy! Don't leave us hanging! I love your Titanic insights! :)

[foxdvd]

I'd be willing to venture the population grew more from '39 to '77 than from '77 to 2001.

From 1940-1980 pop grew about 90 million....from 1980 to 2000 it grew about 55 million.

[JonathanLB]

Yeah... Whoops, sorry Jedieb. I was saying almost exactly the same thing but I didn't see your post (when I started writing mine, yours was not up). Hehe, that's pretty funny/scary.

Well, I think AOTC could definitely sell more tickets than TPM. I would not bet on it, though. I think it certainly will sell more than 80 million tickets, let's just leave it at that.

[Darth23]

If it's too much of a downer ending or too much of a cliff hanger ending I think it will under perform like ESB.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Excellent posts Jedieb, and Jon you both hit the nail on the head about GWTW. I think a lot of people don't understand that really. I hear box office anayalists complain that the movies today don't measure up to the 30's and 40's. Of course they don't they didn't have to compete against TV, internet, video games etc. I would say more about you guys covered so much there is nothing else to really say on the subject. As far as EP 2 I think it will clear 400 and can do up to 500 depending on a lot of factors. I will have a better read of what it will do early next year.

[JonathanLB]

Regardless of what it makes, DANG I cannot wait to see that movie. It's getting close now. We'll be seeing a trailer pretty soon and before long, it'll be lineup time. Heck yeah.

I've avoided spoilers this time around too, so that should be very interesting.

[Darth23]

Obi Wan Kenobi dies in the movie.

:p

[JonathanLB]

NOO!!! That's not true! That's impossible!

hehe.

I just know the cliffhanger ending is going to tick me off, haha. I never had to deal with the ESB cliffhanger. "Oh, gee, cliffhanger, guess I'll pop in the Return of the Jedi VHS now. Cool." It wasn't like, "Oh, gee, a cliffhanger, only have to wait THREE YEARS before I find out what comes next." hehe.

[Jedieb]

The cliffhanger aspect of ESB was just a thrilling experience. Walking out of that theater wondering what would happen to Han is one of my favorite SW memories. My friends and I spent the whole summer talking about what could happen next. But the cliffhanger was overshadowed by Empire's really big body blow, Vader's Revelation. Thank god there was no internet and I was only 10 and didn't have any means of tracking down movie gossip. There's NO WAY I could avoid a spoiler the magnitude of Vader's Revalation in today's world. Ah the 80's, such a simple time...

[JonathanLB]

haha, no kidding.

I wonder how many fans were like, "Vader is Luke's father? WTF? That's stupid. I'm sure that's not true and we'll find out in ROTJ he was just trying to trick him. I mean, that is just dumb, haha, his father! If that is true, I'll be so mad."

haha. I'd love to hear what people said back then.

[Jedieb]

My friends and I never once considered that Vader was lying. I was even kind of surprised in ROTJ that Luke even had to ask Yoda if it was true. At the end of Empire Luke didn't seem to have any doubts about whether Vader was lying. Their telepathic comunication kind of drove home the message that this was the truth and that Obi-Wan had withheld the truth from Luke.

"Father."
"Son, come with me."
....
"Ben, why didn't you tell me?"

To me it just made perfect sense, it FELT like the truth. I'm just glad I was able to be surprised. I would have hated to have grown up with Luke's parantage as common knowledge. :(

[JonathanLB]

haha, trust me it wasn't that bad. :)

I loved growing up with all of the movies and the merchandise and stuff. I played with Star Wars toys even when I was three or so, hehe. I still remember losing my Obi-Wan and Darth Vader figures in a hotel room somewhere.

[Dutchy]

But the "die hard fans" were those silly little 12 to 15 year-old-girls seeing the film 10 times each

"Silly" 12 to 15 year-old-girls don't make $600M at the boxoffice, Jonathan. And you know that.


and holding "cry parties" where they would listen to the music and start crying (this makes me sick, and I actually read this in USA Today once; THOSE IDIOTS!).

How can you judge about other people's emotional involvement in a movie or music? You can't. That's a pretty blunt remark you make there.


It is a FACT that Titanic spent the most weeks at number one of any movie, right?

It is? It's a fact that Titanic has the record for most CONSECUTIVE weeks at number one. I don't know about the other or whether people or sites say it does.

[JonathanLB]

That's incorrect, Dutchy. ANH spent 19 consecutive weeks in first place and as I said, I would bet anything that Gone With the Wind spent many more weeks than ANH at first place, consecutively.

The records for that, well, record, do not date back to ANH even, though, which is why they're not very accurate. There are other, similar records too. They said 1999's summer set an attendance record that has still yet to be beaten in the next two years, BUT that attendance mark was actually exceeded every summer in the '30s and 40's, so when Variety says 1999 was a record, they only mean since ER has been tracking such data, which I believe was since 1973. Don't quote me on that, but it's really VERY recent history.

Same with Titanic's apparent record of consecutive weeks at first. I have a USA Today article that says ANH spent 19 consecutive weeks at #1 and many more non-consecutive. I saved it somewhere, but I'm at college and only have access to my online archives.

""Silly" 12 to 15 year-old-girls don't make $600M at the boxoffice, Jonathan. And you know that."

Dude... Don't be dense. Read what I wrote again and if you can't figure it out, let me help you. Ugg, I know you won't, so let me help you now. I said the DIE HARD FANS. The Die-hard fans didn't make TPM $431 million, either, and in fact the die-hards for any movie series account for a very small portion of the box office gross. The die-hard, screaming, teenage girls didn't make Titanic $600 million. Ordinary people, pretty much everyone, made Titanic the massive hit it became. I was simply referring to the die-hard fans of Titanic, the ones who seriously proclaimed it the best movie of all time.

[Dutchy]

That's incorrect, Dutchy. ANH spent 19 consecutive weeks in first place and as I said, I would bet anything that Gone With the Wind spent many more weeks than ANH at first place, consecutively.

Could be, I don't know. All I know is that at the time of Titanic's boxoffice run those 15 weeks were called an all time record.


Ordinary people, pretty much everyone, made Titanic the massive hit it became.

Exactly.


I was simply referring to the die-hard fans of Titanic, the ones who seriously proclaimed it the best movie of all time.

Die-hard fans of a movie proclaiming that movie the best of all time makes very much sense to me. It doesn't to you?

[JonathanLB]

No, it makes a lot of sense to me too, but thinking Titanic is the greatest movie of all time is just rather odd. I don't think many people feel that way anymore, but it is not that great of a film.

Oh well, everyone is allowed their opinions but I personally cannot imagine thinking that. I think they need to get out and see more movies.

I can imagine someone saying Braveheart is the best ever, or LA Confidential, or even Memento, or Pulp Fiction, or Gone With the Wind, or even The Matrix, but Titanic? That just doesn't fit with the other great films. It is a strong movie and it's enjoyable, but the dialogue is horrid and the film drags too much to be considered one of the all-time greats I think.

[Jedieb]

Ya know a lot of people would also find it odd to say that TPM is the greatest movie of all time. They'd criticize TPM's "horrid" dialogue and slow pace as well. They say that TPM was a "strong" and "enjoyable" movie, but certainly not the "greatest" of all time. Just playing devil's advocate here.

BTW, didn't Beverly Hills Cop set a summer box office record? I recall reading that it set a consecutive summer record for weeks at #1. It may have been for a rated R film, I'm not sure.

[JonathanLB]

I think Beverly Hills Cop was right up there... I forget how many weeks it spent at #1. It's amazing that it did that well. I mean, I LOVE those movies, but still, it's not the type of film you'd think could stick around forever like that. I'd think other films would have provided significant competition.

Yes as I was typing the comments on Titanic I realized of course that some people feel the same way about TPM, but ANH IS considered one of the greatest movies of all time and because I place the four SW movies at #1 equally, as much as that is possible, then I don't think it's a stretch.

Anyway, TPM had excellent pacing and the movie goes very quickly. If it didn't, I couldn't have sat through it 50 times. The dialogue is just awesome. One of the best screenplays around. I love TPM.

[buffjedi]

I feel the main reason (of course I believe in conspiracies)but anyhoo ,was the girls who had there moms/dads take them back to see LEO :( but now they hate him.

Now JON,not all who liked TITANIC are morons (well some of us are ;) ) it was a heart string pulling movie,worth praise.


BUT it is NOOOO TPM, TPM was and is (in my small mind) the greatest movie EVER!!!!


I do love the way you defend TPM / SW,but do remember everyone has diff. tastes.




buffjedi2/wookieboy

[JonathanLB]

Of course, Buff. You are right and I realize that people have different tastes. I think they are free to enjoy Titanic and think it's the greatest movie, but I just personally cannot understand that. Perhaps just as I cannot understand many other things (like being gay, for instance, even though I try not to pass judgment on such people).

Titanic was NOT a bad movie and I'm not saying that. It's actually a good movie, but I just thought it was very overrated... Much like Traffic. I liked that film too and gave it 3.5 stars, but I still thought it was overrated. My best friend agreed too. It just isn't that good of a movie compared to the best of the year, even though I'd still say it is a very good film! The problem was the way they shot it, which was that hazy look that people all called "realistic," but as my best friend notes, "Who cares about realism?! If I want to see that I'll go get a damn camcorder. I want to see professionalism." Absolutely agreed. It is unprofessionally shot and has awful cinematography, which is why it suffers. It's not an excellent movie, just very good...

But yes, Buff, I agree that TPM is the best ever. Can't wait to see the next part, eh? It'll be awesome and probably make TPM even better (as will Episode III).