American Sniper on the way to becoming highest domestic grossing war film of all time

American Thinker ^ | 01/26/2015 | Rick Moran

[SeekAndFind]

American Sniper continued to smash box office records in its second week of showings, blowing through the $200-million domestic gross figure, and is set to pass Saving Private Ryan next week as the biggest domestic grossing war film of all time.

The Clint Eastwood-helmed feature is red-hot in the heartland, as well as the South, according to Deadline Hollywood:

For Sniper, should it hold its estimate into tomorrow, this weekend would mark a mere 28-percent slip – the best second-week hold for a wide release ever for a film that debuted with more than $85M. Previous to this, the best big debuts to hold an audience were 2004’s Shrek 2 (down 33 percent in its second frame) and 2002’s Spider-Man (down 38 percent). American Sniper is marching toward $300M, a mark only six Warner Bros. films have passed.

“Many exhibitors are hearing from their theater managers that the infrequent moviegoers who go only two to three times a year, are coming out to see this movie,” said Warner Bros. distribution chief Dan Fellman. “This a movie about patriotism, recognizing heroes, those who served; it’s about family. There are those who feel it’s anti-war movie. However, there are only 10 films in CinemaScore’s history that have done an A+ in every single category, and that’s telling, because no matter how one views American Sniper, everybody ends up in the same place.”

After posting a solid Friday of $18.3M, American Sniper shot up 58 percent Saturday, with another $28.8M.  The prediction is that it will fall off 40 percent Sunday, adding another $17.3M.

Across the South and the heartland, American Sniper was playing strong: On Saturday, Atlanta and Jacksonville, Fla., both were up 63%, and Charlotte, N.C. was up 64%. But it wasn’t just in the South. Cleveland was up 73% and  even D.C. was up 102 percent.

[NorthMountain]

Wife and I delayed seeing it because we hate standing in line, and we don’t much care for crowded theaters.

Fandango pretty much eliminates the line.

Crowds ... Theater was packed. Oh well ... “they” just totally rebuilt our favorite local theater: nice seats, huge screen, latest cutting-edge digital projector. So I didn’t mind the crowd as much.

“American Sniper” was excellent. Glad I didn’t wait any longer. The film was very well crafted, and the story needed to be told.

[thefactor]

I said that to myself after I watched American Sniper. Hollywood will be forced to make movies like this that portray God-fearing, patriotic, flawed Americans. They will have no choice. Books like this will be written in order to sell movie rights as well.

[Dexter Morgan]

My favorite scene was when he was in the lobby at the auto repair shop. Showed the extent of his bravery, his humility, and his PTSD at the same time.

[servantboy777]

My favorite scene was when he and his spotter were on the rooftop and Chris prepping himself to go down and help clear homes door to door when the fella with him went on that he didn't sign up to clear houses.

Chris basically told him you either help’em clear or don't let me see ya round these parts again.

[Vermont Lt]

Dont get me wrong. I loved the movie. I thought it was just the right mix of flag waving, sniping, and the reality of coming home.

Saw it the first night it was out.

[morphing libertarian]

K