youtube
Clint Eastwood's Oscar darling "American Sniper" opened wide this weekend with a record-smashing $90.2 million haul.
"American Sniper" stars Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle, the most lethal sniper in U.S. military history. The film has been exceeding expectations since it opened in limited release in just 4 theaters on Christmas Day, taking in an impressive $850,000 with a per-theater-average of $152,500, which ranks the 11th best p.t.a 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 just $41.5 million. More notably, the film had the second highest debut ever for an R-rated film, a record held by "The Matrix Reloaded" that 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.
It is also the biggest debut 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.
Theo Wargo/Getty Images