“American Sniper” shot down another box-office record: Its $31.9 million is the biggest Super Bowl weekend gross ever.
According to studio estimates Sunday, the Clint Eastwood film narrowly surpassed the previous top Super Bowl weekend draw. The concert film “Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: The Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour” earned $31.1 million in 2008.
Hollywood often avoids competing with the Super Bowl as movie-going falls dramatically on Sunday, but “American Sniper” has proven an unlikely sensation. It has now made $248.9 million in six weeks (and only three weeks of wide release), making it the most lucrative war movie without adjusting for inflation. (The distinction was previously held by Steven Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan.”)
The competition was thin, as Hollywood held off any high-profile releases, largely ceding the weekend to football.
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Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by 21st Century Fox; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.
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Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
