Netflix announced earlier in the month its slate of movies and TV series returning to the platform this July in the US and Canada, and one of them is James Cameron's disaster epic Titanic.
The 1997 film, which still holds the record for the most Oscars ever won by a movie in a single night, returns to the platform after a brief absence on July 1st.
Despite its history as a beloved sweeping romantic drama and its title as one of the highest grossing movies of all time, many were not happy when the return was announced.
© Getty ImagesFans took to social media to debate the matter, with many citing that it was in poor taste since it came mere days after the OceanGate tragedy with the Titan submersible, in which five people died on their voyage to explore the wreck of the infamous RMS Titanic, which sank in 1912.
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One Twitter user wrote: "#Netflix streaming #Titanic throughout July is wild," while another said: "#Netflix bringing back Titanic to their collection. another example of #opportunism by the company, just as they did w the #Dahmer movie and documentary. Bad taste."
© Getty ImagesA third also added: "Ngl, Netflix is petty for putting titanic up on streaming next month," while one claimed: "They should receive backlash!"
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Several others, however, rationalized the matter, stating that such deals and schedules were often decided weeks or even months in advance, thereby being merely a "coincidence."
© Rex"The fact that people got triggered over this. Netflix has no legal claim to Titanic. This means they have to pay for the license. Which is a whole legal mess. It takes weeks to months to get done," one social media user stated, with another also adding: "Titanic was already on Netflix before, [it's] just coming back."
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A third even said: "So Netflix is getting heat because they are scheduling Titanic. Personally, I'd love to watch it. It is absolutely possible to be exceptionally disturbed about what happened AND still want to watch a great movie?"
© Getty ImagesLast week, James himself told ABC News that he noticed quite a few similarities between the Titan submersible case and the sinking of the Titanic over a century ago.
MORE: 'I was supposed to go': Mother's heartbreak over tragic Titanic submersible disaster
"I am struck by the similarities to the Titanic disaster itself where the captain was repeatedly warned about ice ahead of his ship and yet he steamed at full speed into an ice field," the director said, claiming that "a number of the top players in the deep submergence engineering community wrote letters to the company saying what they were doing was too experimental to carry passengers.
"I understand the engineering problems associated with building this type of vehicle and all the safety protocols that you have to go through," said James.
"And I think [it] is absolutely critical for people to really get the take home message from this [that] deep submergence diving is a mature art from the early '60s… and nobody was killed in the deep submergence until now."
