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American Sniper has smashed January box office records, with the "'real' superhero movie" on track to rake in $105 million across its opening weekend... but is Bradley Cooper now a favorite for the 2015 Best Actor Oscar? The Clint Eastwood directed film is doing Marvel-movie money and tells the story of Chris Kyle, the most lethal sniper in American history — but still can't get any love for the Best Picture or Best Actor Oscars, with 75-1 odds for a win, with Cooper behind Oscar favorites Birdman's Michael Keaton and Eddie Redmayne in The Theory of Everything.
Meanwhile, Chris Kyle's wife Taya shared a touching post on the film's Facebook, saying that, "I also just want to cry and cry and honestly have today.
As The Hollywood Reporter say, "Middle America turned out in force to see American Sniper, starring Bradley Cooper as the late Chris Kyle, a Navy SEAL who did numerous tours of duty in Iraq and is credited with being the most lethal sniper in U.S. military history."
They confirm that the top grossing theaters for the film "were in San Antonio (Kyle was from Texas), Oklahoma City, Houston, New York, Albuquerque, Nashille, Knoxville, Kansas City and Irvine, Calif. Regionally, Calif. ranked No. 1, followed by Texas, Ga. and Fla."
Its success, they say, comes down to how the film "literally played like a superhero title, or other big franchise installment, doing huge business everywhere, from the smallest towns in America's heartland to more liberal cities on either coast."
Warner Bros Domestic Distribution Chief Dan Fellman told The Reporter that "It shows the depth of the movie. It is playing in both red states and blue states," said. "It's the biggest opening of all time for a war film, but people don't view it as a war film. It is about a true hero, and family and patriotism. It doesn't matter that the movie is R-rated, which is sometimes a problem in smaller towns. This is the first 'real' superhero movie."
'#AmericanSniper', Starring Bradley Cooper: What the Critics Are Saying https://t.co/M8VZN0GKmQ pic.twitter.com/XW7qxnBvoI
— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) January 19, 2015
As Grantland's John Lopez points out, the movie's opening also earned "the title of biggest January opening of all time - its $30.5 million Friday is the single biggest day for any January movie ever. It didn't just beat the previous record holder, Kevin Hart's Ride Along, it more than doubled Ride Along's take."
"Those," adds Lopez, "are Guardians of the Galaxy numbers."
Forbes add that not only did it break those records, but it became "the second-biggest R-rated debut of all-time behind only The Matrix Reloaded ($91m)."
But still, as Variety explain, the movie isn't tipped to take home the two biggest Oscars it's nominated for.
What do you think? Should Bradley Cooper be favored to win the Best Actor Oscar for his work as Chris Kyle? Or is the race down to Michael Keaton and Eddie Redmayne?
Check out the trailer for American Sniper below:
