“American Sniper” continued to burn at the nation’s box offices, and added $64.4 million to its kitty this weekend.
The film, in its second weekend of wide release, now has taken in $200.1 million in the U.S. and Canada. It opened five weeks ago in just a few theaters, to qualify for this year’s Academy Awards and to build word-of-mouth buzz.
It has now surpassed “Gran Torino” as director Clint Eastwood’s highest-grossing movie. Showing in 3,755 theaters, it is benefiting from the widest-ever rollout for an R-rated film, according to Rentrak analyst Paul Dergarabedian.
Another R-rated movie, a Jennifer Lopez suspense thriller called “The Boy Next Door,” debuted in second place with an estimated $15 million in domestic sales.
“Paddington” sewed up third place with $12.4 million sales this weekend. Dergarabedian said the film is benefiting from good reviews and its “adorable” child-friendly nature.
And yet another R-rated film, a comedy called “The Wedding Ringer,” was in fourth place with $11.6 million in estimated sales this weekend, and $40 million over two weeks of showings.
Rounding out the top 10 films in ticket sales in the United States and Canada, as estimated by the studios and collated by Rentrak, were “Taken 3” ($7.6 million), “The Imitation Game” ($7.1 million), “Strange Magic” (opening at $5.5 million), “Selma” ($5.5 million), “Mordecai” (opening at $4.1 million) and “Into The Woods” ($3.9 million).
