Weekend Box Office: #1 with $17.3 million ($400,000 less than last weekend) Weekly Box Office: #1 with $22.3 million (1 million more than last week) Total Box Office : #1 with $494.7 million

Leo's Aching Knees

NEW YORK (Reuters) - "Titanic'' star Leonardo DiCaprio will not be at the Oscars tonight. He did not get a best-actor nomination and he says he doesn't want to divert attention from his "Titanic'' co-stars who were nominated. As he tours Europe promoting his new film "The Man in the Iron Mask,'' DiCaprio is deciding what to do about his aching knees. They've been giving him trouble for quite some time. His spokeswoman traces the problem to the actor's fondness for basketball. "When you have those kind of knee problems, you either live with it or you get minor surgery,'' the spokeswoman told the New York Daily News.

Another Record for 'Titanic'

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Titanic'' has notched yet another record as it remained the nation's top film for the 14th week in a row. It has passed the previous record of 13 weeks held by 1982's "Tootsie'' and 1984's "Beverly Hills Cop.'' "Titanic'' earned $17.3 million this weekend, fending off a challenge from the timely political satire "Primary Colors,'' which debuted with $12.4 million. Last weekend's runner-up, "The Man in the Iron Mask,'' slipped to third with $11.2 million. The sex-drenched teen thriller "Wild Things'' opened in fourth, while "U.S. Marshals'' fell two places to fifth.

Will 'Titanic' Sink at Oscars?

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Titanic'' can sail into history tonight. The billion-dollar blockbuster has 14 nominations going into the 70th Academy Awards, including major mentions for actresses Kate Winslet and Gloria Stuart and director James Cameron. "Ben Hur'' holds the record for most Oscars with 11 in 1959. In addition to the "Titanic'' angle, this year's Oscars have a comeback theme. Peter Fonda of "Ulee's Gold,'' the 87-year-old Stuart, Burt Reynolds of "Boogie Nights'' and Julie Christie from "Afterglow'' all are nominated.

AN ALL-TITANIC NIGHT?

Most newspaper writers are agreeing that Titanic is a virtual shoo-in for tonight's top Oscars, although some are hedging their bets by noting that L.A. Confidential, which has swept the critics' awards, might pull an upset. (One thing working against such an eventuality, today's Washington Post observed: No film set in L.A. has ever won the Best Picture Oscar.)

-- Dan Draghici (ddraghic@sprint.ca), March 23, 1998