“American Sniper,” Clint Eastwood’s war-drama that’s nominated for six Oscars, was the top-grossing movie in the U.S. andCanada over the weekend, collecting $90.2 million in ticket sales to set a record for January.
“The Wedding Ringer” came in second with weekend sales of $21 million for Sony Pictures (6758)’ Screen Gems, industry researcher Rentrak Corp. said Sunday in a statement. Weinstein Co.’s “Paddington” collected $19.3 million.
Eastwood’s movie surprised the industry by reaping amounts usually not seen until summer weekends, helping kick off a year that’s expected to haul in at least $11 billion for the first time on the back of new entries from past successful franchises including “Star Wars,” “Terminator” and “Jurassic Park,” said Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst with Rentrak. The three-day take for “American Sniper” was a record for a January weekend, surpassing the $68.5 million brought in by “Avatar” over the first weekend of 2010.
“No one saw this coming. This really obliterated expectations,” Dergarabedian said of Eastwood’s movie. “He’s an octogenarian and he’s still rocking it.”
In a crowded box office over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, “American Sniper” benefited from Oscar nomination buzz. The Warner Bros. film entered the weekend after picking up Academy Award nominations on Thursday, including best picture and best actor for Bradley Cooper.
Weekend sales for the top 10 films percent rose 22 percent to $179.7 million from a year earlier, according to Rentrak. The following table has U.S. movie box-office figures provided by studios to Rentrak. The amounts are based on gross ticket sales for Jan. 16 to Jan. 17, with estimates for Sunday.
Movie Rev. Pct. Theaters AVG Total
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1 American Sniper $90.2 15,466 3,555 $25,374 $93.6
2 Wedding Ringer 21.0 -- 3,003 6,993 21.0
3 Paddington 19.3 -- 3,303 5,839 19.3
4 Taken 3 14.1 -64 3,594 3,909 62.8
5 Selma 8.3 -27 2,235 3,714 26.0
6 Imitation Game 7.2 0 1,611 4,464 50.8
7 Into The Woods 6.5 -32 2,758 2,372 114.3
8 Hobbit 4.9 -48 2,220 2,189 244.5
9 Unbroken 4.3 -48 2,602 1,640 108.6
10 Blackhat 4.0 -- 2,567 1,571 4.0
Top 10 Films Grosses
This Week Year Ago Pct.
(mln) (mln) Chg.
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$179.7 $146.9 22.4
Year-to-date Revenue
2015 2014
YTD YTD Pct.
(mln) (mln) Chg.
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$618 $598 3.4
Elie Chahine 