Clint Eastwood's Oscar darling "American Sniper" opened in wide release this weekend with a record-smashing $90.2 million haul.
“American Sniper” stars Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle, the most lethal sniper in US military history. The film has been exceeding expectations since it opened in limited release in just four theaters on Christmas Day, taking in an impressive $850,000 with a per-theater average of $152,500, which ranks the 11th-best per-theater average of all time.
On Thursday, the film nabbed six Academy Award nominations, including best picture and best actor for star Bradley Cooper, so the timing of its wide release this weekend could not have been better.
"American Sniper" is now the highest-grossing January debut of all time, more than doubling last January's "Ride Along," which took in $41.5 million. More notably, the film had the second-most-lucrative debut ever for an R-rated film, a record held by "The Matrix Reloaded," which took the spot all the way back in 2003 with $91.7 million. When final numbers are released tomorrow morning, "Sniper" might actually overtake it.
Here's a quick look at the highest-grossing films that have opened in January:
| Movie | Release Date | Opening Weekend | Worldwide Gross | Estimated Budget |
| "American Sniper" | 1/16/2015 | $90.2 million | $109.9 million (so far) | $58.8 million |
| "Ride Along" | 1/17/2014 | $41.5 million | $154 million | $25 million |
| "Cloverfield" | 1/18/2008 | $40 million | $170.7 million | $25 million |
| "Taken 3" | 1/9/2015 | $39.2 million | $127.5 million | $48 million |
| "Lone Survivor" | 1/10/2014 | $37.8 million | $149.3 million | $40 million |
| "Star Wars" (Special Edition) | 1/31/1997 | $35.9 million | $579.6 million | n/a |
"American Sniper" is also the biggest debut yet for Clint Eastwood, a record previously set by 2008's "Gran Torino" at just $29.5 million. "American Sniper" bested that on Friday alone with $30.5 million. Not only that, the film had the biggest-ever debut weekend for a best-picture Oscar nominee.
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