"American Sniper," the movie portraying the life of Navy SEAL and deadliest sniper in American history Chris Kyle, is on its way to being a $300 million dollar movie. The Warner Brothers film, directed by Clint Eastwood, has already shattered a number of box office records and is up for six Oscars. Over the weekend, the movie hit a new record, raking in more money on Super Bowl weekend than any other movie in history.
“American Sniper” is nearing the $250 million mark, picking up $31.8 million to set a new Super Bowl weekend record.
The previous high-water mark for football’s big weekend, was “Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour,” which picked up $31.2 million when it premiered in 2008.
If it continues on this torrid clip, Clint Eastwood’s biopic of Chris Kyle could challenge “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1? as the highest grossing 2014 release and will pass “The Matrix Reloaded” to become the second biggest R-rated release in history. It’s earned $248.9 million — an unbelievable result for an adult drama about such hard-hitting topics as war and its psychological effects.
“American Sniper” dwarfed all challengers for the third consecutive weekend. Family film “Paddington” managed to carve out a niche for itself, earning $8.7 million and pushing its domestic total past the $50 million mark.
The movie is now being played internationally.