With no icebergs on the horizon, the producers of “Titanic” are steaming ahead with plans to release the biggest box-office hit of all time on videocassette just before the Labor Day holiday.
When “Titanic” hits the stores Sept. 1, it will be backed by one of the largest marketing campaigns for a single title in the history of the home-entertainment industry. The $50 million promotional blitz will begin with a mid-August countdown and continue through Christmas. Since it opened in mid-December, “Titanic” has gone on to gross a record $581 million in the United States and another $1.13 billion overseas.
Home-video sales represent another challenge for director James Cameron, as the top seven best-selling titles of all time are animated Walt Disney Co. movies, led by “The Lion King” (30 million units) and “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (25 million). The leading live-action films are “Jurassic Park” and “Independence Day,” with 17 million units each. The 194-minute “Titanic” will be released in a two-cassette package, in both wide-screen and standard “pan-and-scan” formats. There is no suggested retail price, but Viacom Inc.’s Paramount Home Video has imposed a “minimum advertised price” restriction of $19.95. Paramount executives said the video release will be protected by a 90-day pay-per-view window, but they aren’t yet ready to announce plans for laserdisc, digital video disc or Digital Video Express platforms.