--- description: The Clint Eastwood-directed film was also nominated for 6 Academy Awards this week title: Box Office Report: 'American Sniper' Breaks January Records image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta47189f804ef191b/69876ed5e20a87c22aa84046/american-sniper.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Box Office Report: _American Sniper_ Breaks January Records by [Ariana Bacle / Entertainment Weekly](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Ariana Bacle / Entertainment Weekly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 18, 2015 9:00 PM CUT  Bradley Cooper stars as Chris Kyle in American Sniper Bradley Cooper stars as Chris Kyle in American SniperWarner Bros. by [Ariana Bacle / Entertainment Weekly](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Ariana Bacle / Entertainment Weekly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 18, 2015 9:00 PM CUT _American Sniper_ was expected to do well this weekend after an impressive limited release, but not _this_ well: The Clint Eastwood-directed war film took in an estimated $90.2 million—and broke a few records. The Oscar-nominated film set a new record for a January opening by taking in $30.5 million on Friday, breaking the mark set by _Cloverfield_ ($17.2 million on Jan. 18, 2008). January is a notoriously slow month at the box office, so _Sniper_‘s debut is particularly eye-opening. _American Sniper_ also took a couple records from James Cameron’s _Avatar,_ which previously held the records for biggest January weekend performance (it made $68.5 million the first weekend of 2010) and biggest gross for a single day ($28.5 million) in January. This is big for _Sniper,_ especially given the sluggish starts for Clint Eastwood films lately: His last two films, 2014’s _Jersey Boys_ and 2011’s _J. Edgar,_ opened with just $13.3 million and $11.2 million, respectively. _American Sniper_‘s wide release came on the heels of its success at Thursday’s Oscar announcement: The film [was nominated for six Academy Awards](http://insidemovies.ew.com/2015/01/15/oscars-2015-nominations/ "undefined"), including one for Best Picture. This announcement perfectly coincided with _Sniper_‘s Friday wide release, giving viewers who were previously on the fence about the movie—or just didn’t _know_ about the movie—a reason to head to the theater. As for the rest of the top five, the Kevin Hart-led _Wedding Ringer_ took the number two spot with $21 million. This is nearly half of what _Ride Along,_ Hart’s comedy that opened at this exact time last year, made its opening weekend, but it’s to be expected: _The Wedding Ringer_ had to play against multiple new films with much more buzz, so the fact that it grossed a bit over $20 million—and is well on its way to breaking even with its $23 million budget—is in itself a success. Family-friendly _Paddington_ also did predictably well with $19.3 million, a number definitely helped by those with kids looking for a PG alternative to the darker or raunchier films currently in theaters. One of those darker films is _Taken 3,_ which was[number one last weekend](http://insidemovies.ew.com/2015/01/11/box-office-report-taken-3-selma/ "undefined") but dropped down to the number four spot this time around with $14.1 million, 64 percent less than its $39.2 million opening. _Selma,_ also a Best Picture nominee, rounded out the top five with $8.3 million. This is a 26 percent decrease from last weekend’s $11.3 million, but it should experience a boost in ticket sales Monday when it’s expected viewers will head to the cinema to check out the Martin Luther King, Jr. biopic in celebration of the [Civil Rights leader’s](http://insidemovies.ew.com/2015/01/16/oprah-winfrey-ava-duvernay-to-march-in-selma-for-mlk-day/ "undefined") birthday. **1\.** [**_American Sniper_**](http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20883931,00.html "undefined") **— $90.2 million** **2\.** [**_The Wedding Ringer_**](http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20483133%5F20892796,00.html "undefined")**– $21 million** **3\.** [**_Paddington_**](http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20483133%5F20892233,00.html "undefined")**_–_** **$19.3 million** **4\.** [**_Taken 3_**](http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20483133%5F20890354,00.html "undefined") **_—_** **$14.1 million** **5\.** [**_Selma_**](http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20883945,00.html "undefined") **_–_** **$8.3 million** Outside the top five, newcomer _Blackhat_ just barely made the top 10 with a $4 million opening weekend. The cyber thriller, starring Chris Hemsworth and directed by Michael Mann, has been plagued with less-than-stellar reviews—it currently has a [32 percent on Rotten Tomatoes](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/blackhat/ "undefined")—that likely contributed to its relatively weak performance. [_This article originally appeared at EW.com_](http://insidemovies.ew.com/2015/01/18/box-office-report-american-sniper/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3673046/american-sniper-bradley-cooper-box-office-record/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3673046/american-sniper-bradley-cooper-box-office-record/"},"headline":"Box Office Report: American Sniper Breaks January Records","datePublished":"2015-01-18T21:00:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:40:39.095Z","description":"The Clint Eastwood-directed film was also nominated for 6 Academy Awards this week","url":"https://time.com/3673046/american-sniper-bradley-cooper-box-office-record/","keywords":["movies"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta47189f804ef191b/69876ed5e20a87c22aa84046/american-sniper.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ariana Bacle / Entertainment Weekly"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta47189f804ef191b/69876ed5e20a87c22aa84046/american-sniper.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"AMERICAN SNIPER","caption":"AMERICAN SNIPER","creditText":"Warner Bros.","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3673046/american-sniper-bradley-cooper-box-office-record/","name":"Box Office Report: American Sniper Breaks January Records"}}]}] ```