Weekend Box Office Report: 'American Sniper' Shoots To The Top
By Bill Wine
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- American Sniper took aim at the box office and debuted in first place over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, the first weekend since the Oscar nominations.
The Oscar-nominated, Clint Eastwood-directed combat drama starring Bradley Cooper earned an estimated, whopping $90-million on its first weekend.
Second place went to the new comedy, The Wedding Ringer, starring Kevin Hart and Josh Gad. It debuted with $21-million.
Close behind In third place was the new kidflick, Paddington, which totaled $19–million.
Leading the holdovers was last weekend's leader, Taken 3, the Liam Neeson action sequel, with $14-million.
And rounding out the top five was the Martin Luther King drama, Selma, with $8–million.
Overall, industry-wide totals were well ahead of those of a year ago.
