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 The Oscar-nominated war film directed by Clint Eastwood and
starring best actor nominee Bradley Cooper as a Navy Seal
sharpshooter easily triumphed over several new releases as it
closed in on a domestic total of $250 million since opening on
Jan. 16.
Family film "Paddington", based on the series of classic
children's books about a loveable bear in search of a home,
finished in second with $8.5 million for Friday through Sunday.
In a virtual tie, estimates showed "Paddington" sold just $5,000
more in tickets than sci-fi time travel tale "Project Almanac,"
which debuted this weekend with $8.5 million. The low-budget,
teen-focused film starring Jonny Weston and Sofia Black-D’Elia
cost just $12 million to make.
"Sniper"'s continued strong performance helped drive overall
box office performance on Super Bowl weekend, when many
Americans are focused on the final game of the pro football
season.
The hit film was on course to set an all-time record for an
individual film on Super Bowl weekend, while total overall box
office was up about 23 percent to $103 million from the same
weekend a year ago, according to tracking firm Rentrak.
"It is now the highest grossing war film ever, unadjusted for
inflation," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at
Rentrak, noting "Sniper" had surpassed the $216.2 million of
1998's “Saving Private Ryan”.
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Another new release, "Black or White", debuted in fourth place with
$6.5 million. The family drama about a family custody battle, stars
Kevin Costner and Octavia Spencer. Costner helped finance and also
produced the film.
Distributor Relativity Studios said it was "confident that adults
will continue to come out over the weeks ahead given the film's A-
CinemaScore (rating), and growth from Friday to Saturday," noting
that the film's second day take exceeded that of opening day.
Rounding out the top five, the Jennifer Lopez thriller "The Boy Next
Door" took in $6.1 million, pushing its total since opening last
weekend to nearly $25 million.
"American Sniper" was released by Warner Brothers, a unit of Time
Warner Inc. "Paddington" was released by The Weinstein Company.
Paramount, a unit of Viacom Inc., distributed "Project Almanac".
Universal Pictures, a unit of Comcast Corp., released "The Boy Next
Door."
(Reporting by Chris Michaud; Editing by Stephen Powell)
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