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A chick-flick period piece with a tragic ending is rewriting the Hollywood rules. It’s about to become the first billion-dollar movie. Why are we all sobbing with pleasure? Even James Cameron is, he says, “a little bit mystified” by the passionate reaction to his movie. The director of “Titanic” has been tirelessly circling the world to promote his film’s opening Audiences don’t always laugh at the same jokes, he’s discovered. But whether it’s Moscow or Tokyo or Rome, they all cry at the same places. If the tears being shed over “Titanic” could be collected in rain clouds, El Nino would have stiff competition. Can’t Keep a Good Ship Down In early February, after raking in some $625 million worldwide, “Titanic” began turning a profit and executives a t Fox and Paramount breathed easier. A gaggle of Oscars would guarantee it a long run and a billion-dollar gross. It’s got legs Most hit movies enjoy big opening-weekend sales, then revenues decline quickly. But “Titanic” has pulled in more than $20 million for a record eight weekends in a row and is likely to extend that . U.S. WEEKEND TICKET SALES, IN MILLIONS OF 1998 DOLLARS Jurassic Park $50 Titanic $30 The Lion King $10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Show them the money Because studios are furtive about their financial arrangements, cost and revenue estimates tend to broad strikes. It’s certain, however, that Fox and Paramount will have a lot of pie to carve. Oscars galore While it’s unlikely to pull a “Ben Hur”, “Titanic” is a virtual lock to go home with a bagful of statuettes YEAR MOVIE NOMINATED WON 1997 Titanic 14 11 1950 All About Eve 14 6 1953 From Here to Eternity 13 8 1939 Gone With the Wind 13 8 1994 Forrest Gump 13 6 1966 Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? 13 5 1964 Mary Poppins 13 5 Trivia time The outsize production and runaway success of “Titanic” have created nearly as many factoids as the doomed