Box Office: ‘American Sniper’ Quickly Becoming No. 1 War Film Of All Time

 

 

 

” American Sniper has set its sights on another record: Within a matter of days, it will overtakeSteven Spielberg’s WWII classic Saving Private Ryan to become the top-grossing war-themed film of all time in North America, not accounting for inflation.

  Clint Eastwood’s history-making movie jumped the $200 million mark on Sunday, putting it ahead of Michael Bay’s Pearl Harbor, another WWII title, which topped out at $198.5 million domestically in 2001. American Sniper is distinct from those two film in being set during a modern-day conflict.

  Saving Private Ryan, released in 1998, earned $216.7 million domestically. Taking inflation into account, that would equal roughly $312 million in today’s terms. But a record is a record, and the history-making Sniper will cross $216 million sometime this week for Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow.

  Films addressing recent conflicts have had a decidedly mixed track record, but American Sniper is benefiting from a massive turnout in America’s heartland, as well as from its six Oscar nominations, including best picture and best actor for Bradley Cooper’s performance as the late Chris Kyle, a Navy SEAL who fought in the second Iraq war.

  In celebrating Sniper’s $200 million milestone, Warners domestic distribution chief Dan Fellmansaid that Eastwood “created a gripping drama with a rare insight into the toll of war that has resonated with audiences in almost every demographic.” “

 

Thanks to The Hollywood Reporter 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

—