"American Sniper" Breaks Box Office Record By $50 Milllion

"American Sniper" breaks the box office record with $90 million weekend. That is nearly double the previous record-holder for a January opening, Ride Along.

American Sniper Movie Image

Image via Warner Bros.

American Sniper Movie Image

American Sniper didn't only break the box office record for the best January opening of all time, it demolished it. The Clint Eastwood-directed film based on real-life Navy Seal Chris Kyle earned Bradley Cooper an Oscar nomination and brought in $90 million in its first weekend of wide release, according to the studios' Sunday estimates.

That is nearly double the previous record-holder for a January opening, Ride Along, which brought in $41 million in January of 2014. 

This year's Hart comedy, The Wedding Ringer, was No. 2 over this MLK holiday weekend with $21 million, while Paddington was No. 3 ($19.3 million). A holdover from last week, Taken 3, brought in $14 million for the fourth spot. 

Speaking of the MLK weekend, the civil rights story Selma, starring David Oyelowo as Martin Luther King  Jr., was No. 5, bringing in just over $8 million. 

 

[Via Vulture]

 

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