Twenty-five years ago, James Cameron made the most expensive movie ever at the time. The very size of the project made investors extremely nervous. Cameron was making a movie about the sinking of the Titanic. It had been done many times before, but that was just the beginning of the reasons that Titanic was expected to be a box office flop. Let me count the reasons.
1. Based on a true event, everyone already knew what happened: the boat sank.
2. Cameron's last film, The Abyss, wasn't a hit.
3. The budget started out at $110 million, but doubled during production. Even if the movie made $300 million, it would be a financial loss.
4. The main characters were played by actors who weren't all that bankable at the time.
5. The six-month shooting schedule dragged on for eight months.
6. Most of the cast and crew hated working for Cameron because of his temper.
7. The release was delayed from July to December, hinting that there were problems with the finished product.
8. The production was beset with calamities, including someone putting PCP in the chowder, which sent 50 people to a hospital.
But we know that Titanic became a huge hit, remaining the #1 movie for 17 weeks in a row. Mental Floss explains the many reasons that the cast, crew, and investors expected Titanic to sink ...again.