'Titanic' Frenzy Once Again
Titanic videos went on sale at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday in each time zone across the U.S. and indications from early sales suggest Titanic will top Walt Disney Co.'s The Lion King, which reportedly sold around 30 million copies, the best-selling home video ever.
Fans across the country stayed up late and waited in line to be among the first owners. In San Francisco early Tuesday, a man was knocked down and beaten, robbed of his coveted copy.
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| Video victim on stretcher (KPIX) |
The victim was hospitalized and his condition was unknown.
The suspect stayed around the scene long enough for police to arrive and arrest him.
In other parts of the country, however, fans displayed more civility. In Chicago, about 200 people were lined up at 11:30 Monday night at a Blockbuster Video. Fifty cars were double-parked around the store while two police officers directed traffic.
Bill Fowble, 21, and his girlfriend, Heather Curtis, 19, who have both seen Titanic four times, were the first in line outside a Hollywood Video store in the Seattle suburb of Lake Forest Park to buy the video.
When asked why they waited 90 minutes to buy a movie they've both seen, Fowble answered: "Because we're all idiots."
"It's the best movie ever," Curtis added.
At a Blockbuster store in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., more than 150 people bought the video in the first 20 minutes after midnight.
"It was a lot bigger turnout than I ever expected," said manager John Reed, who was dressed in a black tuxedo with tails and gray pinstriped pants. "This is the largest video first-day release that I've ever seen."
The frenzy to buy the tape, which many stores are selling for $20 or less, has led industry analysts to predict Titanic will easily become the biggest-selling live-action video of all time.
The Times Square Virgin store in New York had 1,228 copies available and expected to receive an additional 5,000.
Diane Castillo, 21, has seen Titanic 54 times in theaters. But she still waited impatiently for a chance to buy the video.
"It's a good love story," Castillo said. "The way he died for her, you wouldn't find that here. Nobody in New York is going to die for you."