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 The film, directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Oscar
nominee Bradley Cooper as a Navy Seal sharpshooter, has now
taken in more than $200 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters
since opening wide on Jan. 16.
The Jennifer Lopez thriller "The Boy Next Door" finished in
second place on its opening weekend with $15 million from Friday
through Sunday. Family film "Paddington," based on the series of
classic children's books about a loveable bear seeking a new
home, came in third for a second consecutive week with $12.4
million.
Two other new releases, Disney's "Strange Magic" and the Johnny
Depp comedy "Mortdecai," opened in seventh and ninth places
respectively, earning just $5.5 million and $4.1 million.
But audiences continued to flock to see Eastwood's big hit,
"American Sniper," which Warner Bros, the Time Warner Inc unit
that released the film, has called a "cultural phenomenon" after
it smashed records for a drama film opening.
In its second week of wide release, the film scored the
third-biggest January weekend in U.S. box office history,
according to tracking firm Rentrak, and is now playing in 3,755
theaters, the most-ever for an R-rated film.
Studio officials said Lopez's "The Boy Next Door," in which the
star plays a teacher who engages in a reckless liaison with a
teen-aged neighbor, outperformed expectations for an opening of
around $12 million to $13 million.
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With a production cost of about $4 million, the film has earned
nearly four times that in its first three days, noted Nick Carpou,
president of domestic distribution for Universal Pictures, the
Comcast Corp unit that released it.
"With the Super Bowl next weekend and the film having a strong
female appeal, it's positioned very well for counterprogramming,"
Carpou said.
Rounding out the top five, the R-rated Josh Gad-Kevin Hart comedy
"The Wedding Ringer" took in $11.6 million, while "Taken 3," the
third successful film in a series starring Liam Neeson as a retired
CIA operative, earned $7.6 million.
In ninth place, Depp's offbeat "Mortdecai," which co-stars Gwyneth
Paltrow and Ewan McGregor, received stinging reviews and failed to
earn even half of what had been expected.
Paddington" was released by The Weinstein Company. "Taken 3" was
distributed by Fox, a unit of Twenty-First Century
Fox Inc <FOXA.O. "The Wedding Ringer" was released by Sony Corp's
movie studio.
(Reporting by Chris Michaud; Editing by Stephen Powell and Frances
Kerry)
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