LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - It was one of Hollywood's biggest rolls of the dice, but it paid off when "Titanic" -- which at one time seemed as doomed as its real-life inspiration -- steamed off with 11 Oscars. The 3-hour-plus epic was not the only winner on Hollywood's biggest night on Monday. Helen Hunt was annointed Hollywood's new heroine for "As Good as It Gets" and newcomers Matt Damon and Ben Affleck were recognized for "Good Will Hunting". Jack Nicholson won his third acting Oscar for "As Good as It Gets" and Robin Williams ("Good Will Hunting") and Kim Basinger ("L.A. Confidential") each won their first -- for supporting roles -- on a night that saw no real upsets. But it was "Titanic" that loomed over the 70th annual Academy Awards show. Many critics had predicted that with production costs of more than $200 million, the movie was doomed to share the fate of such notorious Hollywood flops as "Heaven's Gate", "Cleopatra" and "Ishtar". But director James Cameron could hardly contain his glee as he stood backstage at the Shrine Auditorium cradling three of the coveted Oscars his film won. In Hollywood, where box-office is all that matters, the critics could not have been more wrong -- in 14 weeks, it has sold more than $1.2 billion in tickets worldwide. Monday's haul of 11 Oscars from 14 nominations tied "Titanic" with 1959's "Ben-Hur" for the most Academy Awards. Despite winning for best picture, best director and best song and score, as well as sweeping the more technical Oscars such as editing and sound, "Titanic" significantly missed out on the two acting categories in which it was nominated. Kate Winslet lost as best actress to Hunt and 87-year-old Gloria Stuart, a sentimental favorite, missed out on the best supporting actress to Basinger. DiCaprio, one of the main reasons "Titanic" has been such a box-office hit -- especially among young girls -- was not nominated and did not attend Monday's awards show. Among other Oscar winners were the Dutch film "Character" for best foreign film, "Geri's Game" for best animated short and "A Story of Healing" for best documentary short. Britain's Anne Dudley won for best original score in a comedy for "The Full Monty", while another box-office smash, "Men in Black" won for best makeup.