"American Sniper" smashes record at box office
"American Sniper" had quite the week.
Just days after snagging six Oscar nominations, the Clint Eastwood-directed war film topped the weekend box office.
The movie raked in $105.3 million over the Martin Luther King Jr. four-day weekend. Per The Hollywood Reporter, "American Sniper" marks the biggest January opening of all time, topping the previous January high: James Cameron's "Avatar" at $68 million in 2010.
The big numbers also make "American Sniper" Clint Eastwood's leading weekend, beating out his previous best: the $29.5 million wide release of 2009's "Gran Torino."
The recent Oscar nominations likely helped boost ticket sales. Last week, Bradley Cooper received a best-actor nod for the movie, which is also up for best picture.
"I never saw it as a war movie, I saw it as a character study," Cooper told CBS News. "So, I never even contemplated anything other than someone would get to know this man and his family."
The family film "Paddington" came in second place with $25.2 million, while "The Wedding Ringer" landed in third with $24.5 million.
