American Sniper (2014) Movie || Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Luke Grimes |updates Review & Facts

e e e e e e American Sniper is a 2014 American biographical War drama film directed and co-produced by Clint Eastwood and written and executive produced by Jason Hall based on the Memoir American Sniper the autobiography of the most lethal sniper in US military history 2012 by Chris Kyle with Scott mchan and Jim defis the film follows the life of Kyle who became the deadliest Marksman in US military history with 255 kills from four tours in the Iraq War 160 of which were officially confirmed by the Department of Defense five while Kyle was celebrated for his military successes his tours of Duty took a heavy toll on his personal and family life it stars Bradley Cooper as Kyle and Sienna Miller as his wife tea with Luke Grimes Jake mcdorman Cory Hardrick Kevin LAX naid Negan and car O'Donnell in support roles American Sniper premiered at the American Film Institute Festival on November 11th 2014 and had a limited theatrical release in the United States on December 25th 2014 followed by a wide release on January 16 2015 it received mostly positive reviews with praise for Cooper's lead performance and eastwoods Direction although it also attracted some controversy over its portrayal of both the Iraq War and KY himself the film grossed over $547 million worldwide making it the 13th highest grossing film of 2014 the highest grossing film with a wide release during the month of January and Eastwood's highest grossing film to date citation needed at the 87th Academy Awards American Sniper received six nominations including best picture best adapted screenplay and best actor for Cooper ultimately winning won for best sound editing growing up in Texas Chris Kyle is taught by his father how to shoot a rifle and hunt deer years later Chris has become a ranch hand and Rodeo Cowboy and returns home early to find his girlfriend in bed with another man after telling her to leave he is mulling it over with his brother when he sees news coverage of the 1998 Embassy bombings and decides to enlist in the Navy he qualifies for special training and becomes a sniper with the US Navy Seals Chris meets tea studabaker at an Irish pub in San Diego and the two soon marry he is sent to Iraq after the September 11th attacks his first kills are a woman and boy who attacked US Marines on patrol with a russian-made rkg 3 anti-tank grenade Chris is visibly upset by the experience but later earns the nickname legend for his many kills assigned to hunt for the al-Qaeda leader Abu musab alzarka Chris interrogates a family whose father offers to lead the seals to the butcher alzar kawi's second in command the plan goes Ary when the butcher captures the father and his son killing them while Chris is pinned down by a sniper this sniper goes by the name Mustafa and is an Olympic Games medalist from Syria meanwhile the insurgents issue a bounty on Chris Chris returns home to his wife and the birth of his son he is distracted by memories of his War experiences and by Tea's concern for them as a couple she wishes he would focus on his home and family Chris leaves for a second tour and is promoted to chief petty officer involved in a shootout with the butcher he helps in killing him when he returns home to a newborn daughter Chris becomes increasingly distant from his family on Chris's third tour Mustafa ser ly injures a unit member Ryan bigle job and the unit is evacuated back to base when they decide to return to the field and continue the mission another seal Markle is killed by gunfire guilt compels Chris to undertake a fourth tour Ana tells him she may not be there when he returns back in Iraq Chris is shocked to learn bigles died in surgery to repair the wounds he sustained assigned to kill Mustafa who has been sniping US Army combat engineers building a barricade Chris's sniper team is placed on a rooftop inside enemy territory Chris spots Mustafa and takes him out with a risky long distance shot at 2100 yd 920m but this exposes his team's position to numerous armed insurgents in the midst of the gunfight and low on ammunition Chris tearfully calls tea and tells her he is ready to come home a sandstorm provides concealment for a chaotic Escape in which he is injured and almost Left Behind after Chris gets back stateside on edge and unable to adjust fully to civilian life he is asked by a veteran affairs psychiatrist if he is haunted by all the things he did in war when he replies it is all the guys he couldn't save that haunt him the psychiatrist encourages him to help severely wounded veterans in the v hospital after that Chris gradually begins to adjust to home life years later on February 2nd 2013 Chris says goodbye to his wife and family as he leaves in good spirits to spend time with Eddie Ray ralth a veteran suffering from PTSD at a shooting range an on-screen subtitle reveals that Chris was killed that day by Ralph followed by archive footage of crowds standing along the highway for his funeral procession more are shown attending his memorial service casting on March 14th 2014 Sienna Miller joined the cast 16 on March 16th 2014 Kyle gallner was cast 17 as was Corey Hardrick on March 18th 2014 18 on March 20th 2014 Navid Negan Eric Close Eric Laden Ray gigos and Jake mcdorman also joined the cast 1920 as did Luke Grimes and Sam joerger on March 25th 2014 2 22 Kevin LAX a former Navy SEAL was also cast and served as a technical adviser 23 another former Navy SEAL Joel Lambert also joined the film portraying a Delta sniper 24 on June 3rd Max Charles was added to the cast to portray Kyle's son Colton Kyle 25 filming principal photography began on March 31st 2014 in Los Angeles 26 witty additional filming in Morocco 27 on April 23rd the Los Angeles Times reported that 10 days of filming set in an Afghan Village was set to begin at the blue cloud Movie Ranch in the Santa Clarita area 28 on May 7th shooting of the film was spotted around El Centro a milk factory was used as the abandoned date Factory which insurgents Clos in on from all directions at the climax of the film 2930 the pier and bar scenes were filmed in Seal Beach California 31 cinematographer Tom Stern shot the film with ar Alexa XD digital cameras and Panavision c e and G Series anamorphic lenses 32 the film is Eastwood's second to be shot digitally after Jersey Boys 33 music there is no music by credit on this film Clint Eastwood who has composed the scores for most of his films since Mystic River 23 is credited as the composer of tees theme Joseph s Debbie C is credited as composer of additional music and as music editor 3D 435 the film also features the song Someone Like You by Van Morrison which plays during the wedding scene and the funeral by ano American Sniper grossed $ 350.12 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $547.00 million against a budget of around $58 million for calculating in all expenses and revenues deadline Hollywood estimated that the film made a profit of $243 million making it the second most profitable film of 2014 only behind paramounts Transformers age of Extinction 37 worldwide it is the highest highest grossing War film of all time breaking Saving Private Ryan's record 38 and Eastwood's highest grossing film to date it is the seventh R-rated film to gross over $500 million 39 North America American Sniper premiered at the Fe Fest on November 11th 2014 just after a screening of Selma at groman Egyptian Theater in Los Angeles 47 in North America the film opened to a limited did release on December 25th 2014 playing at four theaters 2 in New York one in Los Angeles and one in Dallas and earned $610,000 in its opening weekend $850,000 including Christmas Day at an average of $150 $2500 per venue debuting at hh22 48 and 49 the following week the film earned $676 $99 playing at the same number of locations at an average of $169 $277 per Theater which is the second biggest weekend average ever for a liveaction movie previously held by 2001's Mullen Rouge 50 American Sniper holds the record for the most entries in the top 20 top weekend theater averages with three entries at hash1 12 hash4 and hash 17 it earned a total of $3.4 million from limited release in three weekends 51 the film began its wide debut across North American theaters on January 16th 2015 Thursday night showings began at 700 p.m. 52 it set an all-time highest Thursday night opening record for an R-rated drama with $53 million previously held by Lone Survivor 535d 455 the film topped the box office on its opening day grossing $30.5 million including Thursday previews from 3 , 555 theaters setting January records for both biggest debut opening previously held by Cloverfield and single day gross previously held by Avatar 565 e 758 in its traditional 3-day opening the film earned $ 89.2 million which was double than expected and broke the record for the largest January opening previously held by Ride Along 59 and the largest winter opening 60 which is also Eastwood's top opening as a director breaking Grand Rino's opening the 3-day opening is also the biggest opening weekend for a drama film previously held by The Passion of the Christ 62 the second biggest debut for a Best Picture Oscar nominee behind Toy Story 3 63 the second biggest debut for an R-rated film behind the Matrix Reloaded and the third biggest for a non-comic book non-fantasy SL SciFi film behind Furious 7 and fast and and Furious 6 6364 it also set an a Max January opening and single weekend record with 10.6 million previously held by Avatar in its fourth weekend and an R-rated a Max debut record previously held by Prometheus 65 it earned $17.2 million during its 4-day Martin Luther King weekend setting a record for the biggest R rated 4-day gross 66 in its second weekend the film expanded to 3,75 theaters making it the second widest launch for an R-rated movie Behind the film itself 6768 it grossed an estimated $ 64.6 million in its second weekend declining only by 28% and set the record for the second best hold ever for a movie opening to more than $85 million and also set the record for the eighth largest second weekend gross 6970 in just 10 days of release the film surpassed Pearl Harbor 98.5 million to become the second highest grossing War film in North America 71 by its second weekend box office mojo had already reported that the film was on Poise to become the highest grossing film of 2014 in North America a record that was at the time held by The Hunger Games Mocking J part won $334 million judging from its gradual decline and strong holdovers 72 it became the highest grossing IM Max film of January grossing 18.8 million from 333 IM Max theaters 73 on Thursday January 29th 201535 days after its initial release the film surpassed Saving Private Ryan $26.5 Million to become the highest grossing War film in North America unadjusted for inflation 74 by its third weekend of wide release the film expanded to 3885 theaters 180 additional theaters added breaking its own record of being the widest R-rated film ever released 7576 the film topped the box office through its third weekend earning $3.66 million which is the second highest Super Bowl weekend gross behind Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus of Both Worlds concert 77 after topping the box office for three consecutive weekends the film was overtaken by The SpongeBob Movie sponge Out of Water in its fourth weekend 46 outside North America the film had the biggest debut weekend for a Clint Eastwood film and went on to become the director's top grossing film of all time in each of the countries in which it was released 78 in Italy the film opened at number two with $7.1 million Eastwood's best opening of all time and Warner Bros second biggest opening for a non-franchise US Film there 79 it went on to top the box office the following weekend as well 80 it's other largest openings occurred in France $6.3 million 81 where it topped the box office for four consecutive weekends 82 Australia $4.3 million $4.6 million in including previews 83 the UK Ireland and Malta $3.8 million 84 Spain 3.2 million Japan $2.8 million Mexico $2.6 million Brazil $1.8 million and South Korea $1.2 million 81 in total earnings its largest market outside of the US are Italy $23 million and France $22.8 million 8 five critical response on Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 72% based on 294 reviews with an average rating of six 9010 the website's critical consensus States powered by Clint Eastwood's short-handed Direction and a gripping Central performance from Bradley Cooper American Sniper delivers a tense Vivid tribute to its real life subject 86 on met a Critic the film has a weighted average score of 73 out of 100 based on 48 critics indicating generally favorable reviews 87 in cinemascore polls conducted during the opening weekend audiences gave American Sniper a rare grade of a Plus on an A plus to f scale 88 Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter called the film a taught Vivid and sad account of the brief life of the most accomplished Marksman in American American Military annals 89 Justin Chang of variety gave the film a positive review saying an excellent performance from a bulked up Bradley Cooper this harrowing and intimate character study offers fairly blunt insights into the physical and psychological toll exacted on the front lines 90 David Denby of the New Yorker gave the film a positive review saying both a devastating war movie and a devastating anti-war movie A subdued celebration of Warrior's skill and a sorrowful lament over his alienation and misery 991 Keith fips of the dissolve wrote that the film while wellmade missed a chance to explore the toll that such service exacts on soldiers 922 Chris nasti of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a C+ saying the film's just a repetition of context free combat missions and one dimensional targets 93 Elizabeth whitesman of New York Daily News gave the film four out of five stars saying the best movies are ever shifting intelligent and openhearted enough to expand alongside an audience American Sniper is built on this Foundation of uncommon compassion 94 Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film three and a half stars out of four saying Bradley Cooper as Navy SEAL Chris Kyle and director Eastwood salute Kyle's patriotism best by not denying its toll their targets are clearly in sight and their aim is true 95 ignit vishnevetsky of the AF Club gave the film a b saying American Sniper is imperfect and at times a little corny but also ambivalent and complicated in ways that are uniquely East woodan 96 James barard Nelly of Real views gave the film three and a half stars out of four saying American Sniper lifts director Clint Eastwood out of the doldrums that have plagued his last few films 97 Rafer Guzman of Newsday gave the film three out of four stars saying Cooper Nails the role of an American killing machine in Clint Eastwood's cleare eyed look at the Iraq War 98 Kenneth Tran of the Los Angeles Times gave the film a positive review saying eastwoods impeccably crafted action sequences so catch us up in the chaos of combat we are almost not aware that we're watching a film at all 99 Claudia puck of USA Today gave the film three out of four stars saying it's clearly Cooper's show substantially bulked up and affecting a believable Texas draw Cooper embodies Kyle's confidence intensity and vulnerability 100 Joshua Roth cop of timeout New York gave the film four out of five stars saying only Clint Eastwood could make a movie about an Iraq war veteran and Infuse it with doubts Mission anxiety and ruination 101 Dean obidala praised the film saying his Focus was not on whom we were fighting but the unbearably high price Americans pay for Waging War regardless of its Target the film is a cautionary tale for Americans about why we must avoid war it is not a celebration of waging it 102 the film drew some negative reviews Matt tabi in Rolling Stone wrote that the movie turned the complicated moral questions and mass blood shed of the Iraq War into a black and white fairy tale without presenting the historical context 103 Alex Von telman of the Guardian argued that the film presented a simplified black and white portrayal of the Iraq War and that it features the Distortion of facts into unreliable myths based upon previous Legends 104 David maatra of Salon criticized the movie's focus on physical rather than moral courage as the ultimate manly virtue 105 Cavalry Scout sniper Garrett Reen hogen stated that he did not view Iraqi civilians as Savages but as part of a friendly culture for which the movie has furthered ignorance fear and bigotry 106 in C Kang of thur gave the film a negative review saying director Clint Eastwood's focus on Kyle is so tight that no other character including wife tea Sienna Miller comes through as a person and the scope so narrow that the film engages only superficially with the many moral issues surrounding the Iraq War 107 several other articles have also been critical of the movie 108 billion 109 million 110 and 111 responding to critics Eastwood said that American Sniper shows what war does to the people left behind 112 and that presenting the fact of what war does to the family and the people who have to go back into civilian life like Chris Kyle did is the biggest anti-war statement any film can make 113 he stated one of my favorite war movies that I've been involved with is Letters From iojima and that was about family about being taken away from life being sent someplace in World War II everybody just sort of went home and got over it now there is some effort to help people through it 113 he also said I was a child growing up during World War II too that was supposed to be the one to end all wars and 4 years later I was standing at the draft board being drafted during the Korean conflict and then after that there was Vietnam and it goes on and on forever I just wonder does this ever stop and no it doesn't so each time we get in these conflicts it deserves a lot of thought before we go waiting in or waiting out going in or coming out it needs a better thought process I think 114 Bradley Cooper stated that much of the criticism ignores that the film was about widespread neglect of returning veterans and that people who take issue with Kyle should redirect their attention to the leaders who put the troops there in the first place he said we looked at hopefully igniting attention about the lack of care that goes to vets any discussion that has nothing to do with vets or what we did or did not do for them every conversation in those terms is moving farther and farther from what our soldiers go through and the fact that 22 veterans commit suicide each day Cooper said that an increasing number of soldiers are returning from conflict psychologically damaged only to be more or less discarded 115 former First Lady Michelle Obama and former Republican party Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin also spoke out in support of the movie 116 million 117 and18 historical accuracy several major news sources commented on the accuracy of the film and how it differs from Chris Kyle's written accounts the enemy sniper Mustafa is a major character in the film but receives only a small mention in the Memoir Kyle noted I never saw him but other snipers later killed an Iraqi sniper we think was him 1191 12 according to the Memoir Kyle 2100 yard shot was taken against an Insurgent holding a rocket launcher not Mustafa 120 121 time notes that according to screenwriter Jason Hall Kyle said of Mustafa he shot my friend I'm not going to put his name in my book 122 the first combat scene in the film has Kyle killing a boy and mother who tried to attack US troops with a grenade the boy was added for the film 119,120 W 22 The film's Narrative has Navy SEAL Ryan bigle job dying from surgical complications from an operation on his face relatively soon after being shot in Iraq but in reality it was several years later 12121 the character the butcherer was created for the film 11912 although this character may have been based on the real life Abu daa or Ahmad Hashim ABD Al isawi 119 the visual blog information is beautiful stated that while taking creative license into account the film was 56.9% accurate when compared to real life events summarizing a lot of the events in the movie did happen although Kyle's involvement in them was repeatedly exaggerated 123 in the film Kyle decides to join the Navy after watching the 1998 United States Embassy bombings on TV in reality this did not contribute to his decision 124 prop baby one aspect of the film that received negative comment was its use of a fake baby doll in one scene which was said to look obviously artificial and that it was a distraction to critics and viewers 125 in at least one media screening of the film The Audience laughed out loud at how artificial the doll appeared 126 when discussing the film's prospects for winning an Academy Award Vango critic Dave carger said the reason why American Sniper is not going to win is because of the plastic baby 127 in the telegraph journalist Mark Harris said that plastic baby is going to be rationalized by Eastwood aour cultists until the end of days 128 in response screenwriter Jason Hall replied hate to ruin the fun but real baby hash one showed up with a fever real baby hash 2 was no show Clint voice gimme the doll kid American Sniper is a 2014 American biographical War drama film directed and co-produced by Clint Eastwood and written and executive produced by Jason Hall based on the Memoir American Sniper the autobiography of the most lethal sniper in US military history 2012 by Chris Kyle with Scott mccuan and Jim defis the film follows the life of Kyle who became the deadly Marksman in US military history with 255 kills from four tours in the Iraq War 160 of which were officially confirmed by the Department of Defense five while Kyle was celebrated for his military successes his tours of Duty took a heavy toll on his personal and family life it stars Bradley Cooper as Kyle and Sienna Miller as his wife tea with Luke Grimes Jake mcdorman Corey Hardrick Kevin LAX naid nean and car O'Donnell in supporting roles American Sniper premiered at the American Film Institute Festival on November 11th 2014 and had a limited theatrical release in the United States on December 25th 2014 followed by a wide release on January 16 2015 it received mostly positive reviews with praise for Cooper's lead performance and eastwoods Direction although it also attracted some controversy over its portrayal of both both the Iraq War and Kyle himself the film grossed over $547 million worldwide making it the 13th highest grossing film of 2014 the highest grossing film with a wide release during the month of January an Eastwood's highest grossing film to date citation needed at the 87th Academy Awards American Sniper received six nominations including best picture best adapted screenplay and best actor for Cooper ultimately winning one for best sound editing growing up in Texas Chris Kyle is taught by his father how to shoot a rifle and hunt deer years later Chris has become a ranch hand and Rodeo Cowboy and returns home early to find his girlfriend in bed with another man after telling her to leave he is mulling it over with his brother when he sees news coverage of the 1998 s Embassy bombings and decides to enlist in the Navy he qualifies for special training and becomes a sniper with the US Navy Seals Chris meets tea studabaker at an Irish pub in San Diego and the two soon marry he is sent to Iraq after the September 11th attacks his first kills are a woman and boy who attacked US Marines on patrol with a russian-made rkg 3 anti-tank grenade Chris is visibly upset by the experience but later earns the nickname legend for his many kills assigned to hunt for the al-Qaeda leader Abu musab alzar kawi Chris interrogates a family whose father offers to lead the seals to the butcher alzar kawi's second in command the plan goes Ary when the butcher captures the father and his son killing them while Chris is pinned down by a sniper this sniper goes by the name Mustafa and is an Olympic Games medalist from Syria meanwhile the insurgents issue a bounty on Chris Chris returns home to his wife and the birth of his son he is distracted by memories of his War experiences and by Tea's concern for them as a couple she wishes he would focus on his home and family Chris leaves for a second tour and is promoted to chief petty officer involved in a shootout with the butcher he helps in killing him when he returns home to a newborn daughter Chris becomes increasingly distant from his family on Chris's third four Mustafa seriously injures a unit member Ryan bigle job and the unit is evacuated back to base when they decide to return to the field and continue the mission another seal Markle is killed by gunfire guilt compels Chris to undertake a fourth tour and TAA tells him she may not be there when he returns back in Iraq Chris is shocked to learn bigles died in surgery to repair the wounds he sustained assigned to kill Mustafa who has been sniping US Army combat engineers building a barricade Chris's sniper team is placed on a rooftop inside enemy territory Chris spots Mustafa and takes him out with a risky long distance shot at 2100 y920 M but this exposes his team's position to numerous armed insurgents in the midst of the gunfight and low on ammunition Chris tearfully calls tea and tells her he is ready to come home a sandstorm provides concealment for a chaotic Escape in which he is injured and almost Left Behind after Chris gets back stateside on edge and unable to adjust fully to civilian life he is asked by a veteran affairs psychiatrist if he is haunted by all the things he did in war when he replies it is all the guys he couldn't save that haunt him the psychiatrist encourages him to help severely wounded veterans in the VA hospital after after that Chris gradually begins to adjust to home life years later on February 2nd 2013 Chris says goodbye to his wife and family as he leaves in good spirits to spend time with Eddie rayal a veteran suffering from PTSD at a shooting range an on-screen subtitle reveals that Chris was killed that day by Ralph followed by archive footage of crowds standing along the highway for his funeral procession Mo shown attending his memorial service casting on March 14th 2014 Sienna Miller joined the cast 16 on March 16th 2014 Kyle gallner was cast 17 as was Corey Hardrick on March 18th 2014 18 on March 20th 2014 naid Negan Eric Close Eric ladin Ray gigos and Jake mcdorman also joined the cast 1920 as did Luke Grimes and Sam joerger on March 25th 2014 2122 Kevin LAX a former Navy SEAL was also cast and served as a technical adviser 23 another former Navy SEAL Joel Lambert also joined the film portraying a Delta sniper 24 on June 3rd Max Charles was added to the cast to portray Kyle's son Colton Kyle 25 filming principal photography began on March 31st 2014 in Los Angeles 26 witty additional filming in Morocco 27 on April 23rd the Los Angeles Times reported that 10 days of filming set in an Afghan Village was set to begin at the blue cloud Movie Ranch in the Santa Clarita area 28 on May 7th shooting of the film was spotted around El Centro a milk factory was used as the abandoned date Factory which insurgents Clos in on from all directions at the climax of the film 2930 the pier and bar scenes were filmed in Seal Beach California 31 cinematographer Tom Stern shot the film with ar Alexa XT digital cameras and Panavision c e and G Series anamorphic lenses 32 the film is Eastwood's second to be shot digitally after Jersey Boys 33 music there is no music by credit on this film Clint Eastwood who has composed the scores for most of his films since Mystic River 23 is credited as the composer of tees theme Joseph s Debbie C is credited as composer of additional music and as music editor 3D 435 the film also features the song Someone Like You by Van Morrison which plays during the wedding scene and the funeral by ano morom American Sniper grossed $ 350.12 and $197 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $547.00 million against a budget of around $58 million for calculating in all expenses and revenues deadline Hollywood estimated that the film made a profit of $243 million making it the second most profitable film of 2014 only behind paramounts Transformers age of Extinction 37 worldwide it is the highest grossing War film of all time breaking Saving Private Ryan's record 38 and Eastwood's highest grossing film to date it is the seventh R-rated film to gross over $500 million 39 North America American Sniper premiered at the Fe Fest on November 11th 2014 just after a screening of Selma at Gran's Egyptian Theater in Los Angeles 47 in North America the film opened to a limited release on December 25th 2014 playing at four theaters 2 in New York one in Los Angeles and won in Dallas and earned $610,000 in its opening weekend $850,000 including Christmas Day at an average of $150 $2500 per venue debuting at hh22 48 and 49 the following week the film earned $676 9009 playing at the same number of locations at an average of $169 $277 per Theater which is the second biggest weekend average ever for a liveaction movie previously held by 2001's Mullen Rouge 50 American Sniper holds the record for the most entries in the top 20 top weekend theater averages with three entries at hash1 12 hash4 and hash 177 it earned a total of $3.4 million from limited release in three weekends 51 the film began its wide debut across North American theaters on January 16th 2015 Thursday night showings began at 700 p.m. 52 it set an all-time highest Thursday night opening record for an R-rated drama with $5.3 million previously held by Lone Survivor 535d 455 the film topped the box office on its opening day grossing $30.5 million including Thursday previews from 3555 theaters setting January records for both biggest debut opening previously held by Cloverfield and single day gross previously held by Avatar 565 e 758 in its traditional 3-day opening the film earned $ 89.2 million which was double than expected and broke the record for the largest January opening previously held by Ride Along 59 and the largest winter opening 60 which is also Eastwood's top opening as a director breaking Grand Rino's opening the 3-day opening is also the biggest opening weekend for a drama film previously held by The Passion of the Christ 62 the second biggest debut for a Best Picture Oscar nominee behind Toy Story 3 63 the second biggest debut for an R-rated film behind the Matrix Reloaded and the third biggest for a non-comic book non-fantasy SL SciFi film behind Fury Furious 7 and Fast and Furious 6 6364 it also set an ax January opening and single weekend record with $10.6 million previously held by Avatar in its fourth weekend and an R-rated a Max debut record previously held by Prometheus 65 it earned $17.2 million during its 4-day Martin Luther King weekend setting a record for the biggest R rated 4-day gross 66 in its second weekend the film expanded to 3,75 theaters making it the second widest launch for an R-rated movie Behind the film itself 16768 it grossed an estimated 64.6 million in its second weekend declining only by 28% and set the record for the second best hold ever for a movie opening to more than $85 million and also set the record for the eighth largest second weekend gross 6970 in just 10 days of release the film surpassed Pearl Harbor $18.5 million to become the second highest grossing War film in North America 71 by its second weekend box office mojo had already reported that the film was on Poise to become the highest grossing film of 2014 in North America a record that was at the time held by The Hunger Games Mocking J part W 334 million million judging from its gradual decline and strong holdovers 72 it became the highest grossing IM Max film of January grossing $18.8 million from 333 IM Max theaters 73 on Thursday January 29th 2015 35 days after its initial release the film surpassed Saving Private Ryan 26.5 million to become the highest grossing War film in North America unjust Ed for inflation 74 by its third weekend of wide release the film expanded to 3885 theaters 180 additional theaters added breaking its own record of being the widest R-rated film ever released 7576 the film topped the box office through its third weekend earning 3.66 million which is the second highest Super Bowl weekend gross behind Hannah Montana and Cyrus Best of Both Worlds concert 77 after topping the box office for three consecutive weekends the film was overtaken by The SpongeBob Movie sponge Out of Water in its fourth weekend 46 outside North America the film had the biggest debut weekend for a Clint Eastwood film and went on to become the director's top grossing film of all time in each of the countries in which it was released 78 in Italy the film opened at number two with $7.1 million Eastwood's best opening of all time and Warner Bros second biggest opening for a non-franchise US Film there 79 it went on to top the box office the following weekend as well 80 its other largest openings occurred in France $6.3 million 81 where it topped the box office for four consecutive weekends 82 Australia $4.3 million 4 .6 million including previews 83 the UK Ireland and Malta $3.8 million 84 Spain $3.2 million Japan $2.8 million Mexico $2.6 million Brazil $1.8 million and South Korea $1.2 million 81 in total earnings its largest market outside of the US are Italy $23 million and France 22.8 million 85 critical response on Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 72% based on 294 reviews with an average rating of six 9010 the website's critical consensus States powered by Clint Eastwood's short-handed Direction and a gripping Central performance from Bradley Cooper American Sniper delivers a tense Vivid tribute to its real life subject 86 on Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 73 out of 100 based on 48 critics indicating generally favorable reviews 87 in cinemascore polls conducted during the opening weekend audiences gave American Sniper a rare grade of a Plus on an A plus to f scale 88 Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter called the film a Tau Vivid and sad account of the brief life of the most accomplished Marksman in American Military annals 89 Justin Chang of variety gave the film a positive review saying an excellent performance from a bulked up Bradley Cooper this harrowing and intimate character study offers fairly blunt insights into the physical and psychological toll exacted on the front lines 90 David Denby of the New Yorker gave the film a positive review saying both a devastating war movie and a devastating anti-war movie a subdued celebration of A Warrior's skill and a sorrowful lament over his alienation and misery 91 Keith fips of the dissolve wrote that the film while wellmade missed a chance to explore the toll that such service exacts on soldiers 92 Chris Nasha of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a C+ saying the film's just a repetition of context free combat missions and one-dimensional targets 93 Elizabeth whitesman of New York Daily News gave the film four out of five stars saying the best movies are ever shifting intelligent and openhearted enough to expand alongside an audience American Sniper is built on this Foundation of uncommon compassion 94 Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film three and a half stars out of four saying Bradley Cooper as Navy SEAL Chris Kyle and director Eastwood salute Kyle's patriotism best by not denying its toll their targets are clearly in sight and their aim is true 95 ignit vishy of the F Club gave the film a be saying American Sniper is imperfect and at times a little corny but also ambivalent and complicated in ways that are uniquely East woodan 96 James barard Nelly of Real views gave the film three and a half stars out of four saying American Sniper lifts director Clint Eastwood out of the doldrums that have plagued his last few films 97 Rafer Guzman of Newsday gave the film three out of four stars saying Cooper Nails the role of an American killing machine in Clint Eastwood's cleare eyed look at the Iraq War 98 Kenneth Tran of the Los Angeles Times gave the film a positive review saying Eastwood's impeccably crafted action sequences so catch us up in the chaos of combat we are almost not aware that we're watching a film at all 99 Claudia Puig of USA Today gave the film three out of four stars saying it's clearly Cooper's show substantially bulked up and affecting a believable Texas draw Cooper embodies Kyle's confidence intensity and vulnerability 100 Joshua Roth cop of timeout New York gave the film four out of five stars saying only Clint Eastwood could make a movie about an Iraq war veteran and Infuse it with doubts Mission anxiety and ruination 101 Dean obidala praised the film saying his Focus was not on whom we were fighting but the unbearably high price Americans pay for Waging War regardless of its Target the film is a cautionary tale for Americans about why we must avoid war it is not a celebration of waging it 102 the film drew some negative reviews Matt tabi in Rolling Stone wrote that the movie turned the complicated moral questions and mass Bloodshed of the Iraq War into a black and white fairy tale without presenting the historical context 103 Alex Von telman of the Guardian argued that the film presented a simplified black and white portrayal of the Iraq War and that it features the Distortion of facts into unreliable myths based upon previous Legends 104 David maatra of Salon criticized the movie's focus on physical rather than moral courage as the ultimate imate manly virtue 105 Cavalry Scout sniper Garrett Reen hogen stated that he did not view Iraqi civilians as Savages but as part of a friendly culture for which the movie has furthered ignorance fear and bigotry 106 Inu Kang of furp gave the film a negative review saying director Clint Eastwood's focus on Kyle is so tight that no other character including wife tea Sienna Miller comes through as a person and the scope so that the film engages only superficially with the many moral issues surrounding the Iraq War 107 several other articles have also been critical of the movie 108 billion 109 million 110 and 111 responding to critics Eastwood said that American Sniper shows what war does to the people left behind 112 and that presenting the fact of what war does to the family and the people who have to go back into civilian life like Chris Kyle did is the biggest anti-war statement any film can make 113 he stated one of my favorite war movies that I've been involved with is Letters From iojima and that was about family about being taken away from life being sent someplace in World War II everybody just sort of went home and got over it now there is some effort to help people through it 113 he also said I was a child grown growing up during World War II That was supposed to be the one to end all wars and 4 years later I was standing at the draft board being drafted during the Korean conflict and then after that there was Vietnam and it goes on and on forever I just wonder does this ever stop and no it doesn't so each time we get in these conflicts it deserves a lot of thought before we go waiting in or waiting out going in or coming out it needs a better thought process I think 114 Bradley Cooper stated that much of the criticism ignores that the film was about widespread neglect of returning veterans and that people who take issue with Kyle should redirect their attention to the leaders who put the troops there in the first place he said we looked at hopefully igniting attention about the lack of care that goes to vets any discussion that has nothing to do with vets or what we did or did not do for them every conversation in those terms is moving farther and farther from what our soldiers go through and the fact that 22 veterans commit suicide each day Cooper said that an increasing number of soldiers are returning from conflict psychologically damaged only to be more or less discarded 115 former First Lady Michelle Obama and former Republican party Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin also spoke out in support of the movie 116,117 and18 historical accuracy several major news sources commented on the accuracy of the film and how it differs from Chris Kyle's written accounts the enemy sniper Mustafa is a major character in the film but receives only a small mention in the Memoir Kyle noted I never saw him but other snipers later killed an Iraqi sniper we think was him 1191 120 according to the Memoir Kyle's 2100 yard shot was taken against an Insurgent holding a rocket launcher not Mustafa 120 121 time notes that according to screenwriter Jason Hall Kyle said of Mustafa he shot my friend I'm not going to put his name in my book 122 the first combat scene in the film has Kyle killing a boy and mother who tried to attack US troops with a grenade the boy was added for the film 19,1 12122 The film's Narrative has Navy SEAL Ryan bigle job dying from surgical complications from an operation on his face relatively soon after being shot in Iraq but in reality it was several years later 12121 the character the butcherer was created for the film 11912 although this character may have been based on the real life Abu Dera or Ahmad Hashim ABD Al isawi 119 the visual blog information is beautiful stated that while taking creative license into account the film was 56.9% accurate when compared to real life events summarizing a lot of the events in the movie did happen although Kyle's involvement in them was repeatedly exaggerated 123 in the film Kyle decides to join the Navy after watching the 1998 United States Embassy bombings on TV in reality this did not contribute to his decision 124 prop baby one aspect of the film that received negative comment was its use of a fake baby doll in one scene which was said to look obviously artificial and that it was a distraction to critics and viewers 125 in at least one media screening of the film The Audience laughed out loud at how artificial the doll appeared 126 when discussing theil s prospects for winning an Academy Award Fango critic Dave carger said the reason why American Sniper is not going to win is because of the plastic baby 127 in the telegraph journalist Mark Harris said that plastic baby is going to be rationalized by Eastwood aour cultists until the end of days 128 in response screenwriter Jason Hall replied hate to ruin the fun but real baby hash one showed up with a fever real baby hash to was no show Clint voice gimme the doll kid American Sniper is a 2014 American biographical War drama film directed and co-produced by Clint Eastwood and written and executive produced by Jason Hall based on the Memoir American Sniper the autobiography of the most lethal sniper in US military history 2012 by Chris Kyle with Scott mccuan and Jim defis the film follows the life of Kyle who became the deadliest Marksman in US military history with 255 kills from four tours in the Iraq War 160 of which were officially confirmed by the Department of Defense five while Kyle was celebrated for his military successes his tours of Duty took a heavy toll on his personal and family life it stars Bradley Cooper as Kyle and Siana Miller as his wife tea with Luke Grimes Jake mcdorman Corey Hardrick Kevin lack Navid nean and car O'Donnell in supporting roles American Sniper premiered at the American Film Institute Festival on November 11th 2014 and had a limited theatrical release in the United States on December 25th 2014 followed by a wide release on January 16 2015 it received mostly positive reviews with praise for Cooper's lead performance and eastwoods Direction although it also attracted some controversy over its portrayal of both the Iraq War and Kyle himself the film grossed over $547 million worldwide making it the 13th highest grossing film of 2014 the highest grossing film with a wide release during the month of January and Eastwood's highest grossing film to date citation needed at the 87th Academy Awards American Sniper received six nominations including best picture best adapted screenplay and best actor for Cooper ultimately winning one for best sound editing growing up in Texas Chris Kyle is taught by his father how to shoot a rifle and hunt deer years later Chris has become a ranch hand and Rodeo Cowboy and returns home early to find his girlfriend in bed with another man after telling her to leave he is mulling it over with his brother when he sees news coverage of the 1998 Embassy bombings and decides to enlist in the Navy he qualifies for special training and becomes a sniper with the US Navy Seals Chris meets ta studa Baker at an Irish pub in San Diego and the two soon marry he is sent to Iraq after the September 11th attacks his first kills are a woman and boy who attacked US Marines on patrol with a russian-made rkg 3 anti-tank grenade Chris is visibly upset by the experience but later earns the nickname Legend for his many kills assigned to hunt for the al-Qaeda leader Abu musab Al Zara Chris interrogates a family whose father offers to lead the seals to the butcher Al Zara's second in command the plan goes Ary when the butcher captures the father and his son killing them while Chris is pinned down by a sniper this sniper goes by the name Mustafa and is an Olympic Games medalist from Syria meanwhile the insurgents issue a bounty on Chris Chris returns home to his wife and the birth of his son he is distracted by memories of his War experiences and by Tea's concern for them as a couple she wishes he would focus on his home and family Chris leaves for a second tour and is promoted to chief petty officer involved in a shootout with the butcher he helps in killing him when he returns home to a newborn daughter Chris becomes increasingly distant from his family on Chris's third tour Mustafa seriously injures a unit member Ryan Big's job and the unit is evacuated back to base when they decide to return to the field and continue the mission another seal Markley is killed by gunfire guilt compels Chris to undertake a fourth tour and TAA tells him she may not be there when he returns back in Iraq Chris is shocked to learn bigles died in surgery to repair the wounds he sustained assigned to kill Mustafa who has been sniping US Army combat engineers building a barricade Chris's sniper team is placed on a rooftop inside enemy territory Chris spots Mustafa and takes him out with a risky longdistance shot at 2100 yard 1 920m but this exposes his team's position to numerous armed insurgents in the midst of the gunfight and low on ammunition Chris tearfully calls tea and tells her he is ready to come home a sandstorm provides concealment for a chaotic Escape in which he is injured and almost Left Behind after Chris gets back stateside on edge and unable to adjust fully to civilian life he is asked by a Veteran's Affairs psychiatrist if he is haunted by all the things he did in war when he replies it is all the guys he couldn't save that haunt him the psychiatrist encourages him to help severely wounded veterans in n vaja hospital after that Chris gradually begins to adjust to home life years later on February 2nd 2013 Chris says goodbye to his wife and family as he leaves in good spirits to spend time with Eddie Ray ralth a veteran suffering from PTSD at a shooting range an onscreen subtitle reveals that Chris was killed that day by Ralph followed by archive footage of crowds standing along the highway for his funeral procession more shown attending his memorial service casting on March 14th 2014 Sienna Miller joined the cast 16 on March 16th 2014 Kyle gallner was cast 17 as was Corey Hardrick on March 18 2014 18 on March 20th 2014 naid Negan Eric Close Eric Laden Ray gigos and Jake mcdorman also joined the cast 1920 as did Luke Grimes and Sam on March 25th 2014 2122 Kevin LAX a former Navy SEAL was also cast and served as a technical adviser 23 another former Navy SEAL Joel Lambert also joined the film portraying a Delta sniper 24 on June 3rd Max Charles was added to the cast to portray Kyle's son Colton Kyle 25 filming principal photography began on March 31st 2014 in Los Angeles 26 witty additional filming in Morocco 27 on April 23rd the Los Angeles Times reported that 10 days of filming set in an Afghan Village was set to begin at the blue cloud Movie Ranch in the Santa Clarita area 28 on May 7th shooting of the film was spotted around El Centro a milk factory was used as the abandoned date Factory which insurgents Clos in on from all directions at the climax of the film film 2930 the pier and bar scenes were filmed in Seal Beach California 31 cinematographer Tom Stern shot the film with ar Alexa XT digital cameras and Panavision c e and G Series anamorphic lenses 32 the film is Eastwood's second to be shot digitally after Jersey Boys 33 music there is no music by credit on this film Clint Eastwood who has composed the scores for most of his films since Mystic River 23 is credited as the composer of tees theme Joseph s Debbie C is credited as composer of additional music and as music editor 3D 435 the film also features the song Someone Like You by Van Morrison which plays during the wedding scene and the funeral by ano American Sniper grossed 350.12 in North America and $197 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $547.00 million against a budget of around $58 million for calculating in all expenses and revenues deadline Hollywood estimated that the film made a profit of $243 million making it the second most profitable film of 2014 only behind paramounts Transformers age of Extinction 37 worldwide it is the highest grossing War film of all time breaking Saving Private Ryan's record 38 and Eastwood's highest grossing film to date it is the seventh R-rated film to gross over $500 million 39 North America American Sniper premiered at the Fe Fest on November 11th 2014 just after a screening of Selma at Gran's Egyptian Theater in Los Angeles 4 in North America the film opened to a limited release on December 25th 2014 playing at four theaters 2 in New York one in Los Angeles and one in Dallas and earned $610,000 in its opening weekend $850,000 including Christmas Day at an average of $150 $2500 per venue debuting at hh22 48 and 49 the following week the film earned $676 99 playing at the same number of locations at an average of $169 $277 per Theater which is the second biggest weekend average ever for a liveaction movie previously held by 2001's Mullen Rouge 50 American Sniper holds the record for the most entries in the top 20 top weekend theater averages with three entries at hash 12 hash4 and hash 17 it earned a total of $3.4 million from Limited releas release in three weekends 51 the film began its wide debut across North American theaters on January 16th 2015 Thursday night showings began at 700 p.m. 52 it set an all-time highest Thursday night opening record for an R-rated drama with $5.3 million previously held by Lone Survivor 535d 455 the film topped the box office on its opening day grossing 30.5 million including Thursday previews from 3555 theaters setting January records for both biggest debut opening previously held by Cloverfield and single day gross previously held by Avatar 565 758 in its traditional 3-day opening the film earned $ 9.2 million which was double than expected and broke the record for the largest January opening previously held by Ride Along 59 and the largest wind opening 60 which is also Eastwood's top opening as a director breaking grand trino opening the 3-day opening is also the biggest opening weekend for a drama film previously held by The Passion of the Christ 62 the second biggest debut for a Best Picture Oscar nominee behind Toy Story 3 63 the second biggest debut for an R-rated film behind the Matrix Reloaded and the third biggest for a non-comic book non-fantasy SL sci-fi film behind Furious 7 and Fast and Furious 6 6364 it also set an a Max January opening and single weekend record with $10.6 million previously held by Avatar in its fourth weekend and an R rated a Max debut record previously held by Prometheus 65 it earned $17.2 million during its 4-day Martin Luther King weekend setting a record for the biggest R-rated 4-day gross 66 in its second weekend the film expanded to 3,75 theaters making it the second widest launch for an R-rated movie Behind the film itself 6768 it grossed an estimated $ 64.6 million in its second weekend declining only by 28% and set the record for the second best hold ever for a movie opening to more than $85 million and also set the record for the eighth largest second weekend gross 6970 in just 10 days of release the film surpassed Pearl Harbor $18.5 million to become the second highest grossing War film in North America 71 by its second weekend box office mojo had already reported that the film was on Poise to become the highest grossing film of 2014 in North America a record that was at the time held by The Hunger Games Mocking J part one won $334 million judging from its gradual decline and strong holdovers 72 it became the highest grossing IMAX film of January grossing $18.8 million from 333 IMAX theaters 73 on Thursday January 29th 2015 35 days after its initial release the film surpassed Saving Private Ryan $26.5 Million to become the highest grossing War film in North America unadjusted for inflation 74 by its third weekend of wide release the film expanded to 3 885 theaters 180 additional theaters added breaking its own record of being the widest R-rated film ever released 7576 the film topped the box office through its third weekend earning $3.66 million which is the second highest Super Bowl weekend gross behind Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus best of both world's concert 77 after topping the box office for three consecutive weekends the film was overtaken by The SpongeBob Movie sponge Out of Water in its fourth weekend 46 outside North America the film had the biggest debut weekend for a Clint Eastwood film and went on to become the director's top grossing film of all time in each of the countries in which it was released 78 in Italy the film opened at number two with $7.1 million Eastwood's best opening of all time and Warner Bros second biggest opening for a non-franchise US Film there 79 it went on to top the box office the following weekend as well 80 its other largest openings occurred in France $6.3 million 81 where it topped the box office for four consecutive weekends 82 Australia 4.3 million $4.6 million including previews 83 the UK Ireland and Malta $3.8 million 84 Spain $3.2 million Japan $2.8 million Mexico $2.6 million Brazil $1.8 million and South Korea $1.2 million 81 in total earnings its largest market outside of us are Italy $23 million and France $22.8 million 85 critical response on Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 72% based on 294 reviews with an average rating of six 9010 the website's critical consensus States powered by Clint Eastwood's short-handed Direction and a gripping Central performance from Bradley Cooper American Sniper delivers a tense Vivid tribute to its real life subject 86 on Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 73 out of 100 based on 48 critics indicating generally favorable reviews 87 in cinemascore polls conducted during the opening weekend audiences gave American Sniper a rare grade of a Plus on an A plus to f scale 88 Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter called the film a taught Vivid and sad account of the brief life of the most accomplished Marksman in American Military annals 89 Justin Chang of variety gave the film a positive review saying an excellent performance from a bulked up Bradley Cooper this harrowing and intimate character study offers fairly blunt insights into the physical and psychological toll exacted on the front lines 90 David Denby of the New Yorker gave the film a positive review saying both a devastating war movie and a devastating antiwar movie A subdued celebration of A Warrior's skill and a sorrowful lament over his alienation and misery 91 Keith fips of the dissolve wrote that the film while wellmade missed a chance to explore the toll that such service exacts on soldiers 92 Chris nasti of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a C+ saying the film's just a repetition of context free combat missions and one-dimensional targets 93 Eliz Elizabeth whitesman of New York Daily News gave the film four out of five stars saying the best movies are ever shifting intelligent and openhearted enough to expand alongside an audience American Sniper is built on this Foundation of uncommon compassion 94 Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film three and a half stars out of four saying Bradley Cooper as Navy SEAL Chris Kyle and director Eastwood salute Kyle's patriotism best by not denying its toll their targets are clearly in sight and their aim is true 95 tin vety of the AF Club gave the film a b saying American Sniper is imperfect and at times a little corny but also ambivalent and complicated in ways that are uniquely East woodan 96 James barard nelli of Real views gave the film three and a half stars out of four saying American Sniper lifts director Clint East out of the doldrums that have plagued his last few films 97 Rafer Guzman of Newsday gave the film three out of four stars saying Cooper Nails the role of an American killing machine in Clint Eastwood's cleare eyed look at the Iraq War 98 Kenneth Tran of the Los Angeles Times gave the film a positive review saying eastwoods impeccably crafted action sequences so catch us up in the chaos of combat we are almost not aware that we're watching a film at all 99 Claudia Puig of USA Today gave the film three out of four stars saying it's clearly Cooper's show substantially bulked up and affecting a believable Texas draw Cooper embodies Kyle's confidence intensity and vulnerability 100 Joshua Roth cop of timeout New York gave the film four out of five stars saying only Clint Eastwood could make a movie about an Iraq war veteran and Infuse it with doubts Mission anxiety and ruination 101 Dean obidala praised the film saying his Focus was not on whom we were fighting but the unbearably high price Americans pay for Waging War regardless of its Target the film is a cautionary tale for Americans about why we must avoid war it is not a celebration of waging it 102 the film drew some negative reviews Matt tab in Rolling Stone wrote that the movie turned the complicated moral questions and mass Bloodshed of the Iraq War into a black and white fairy tale without presenting the historical context 103 Alex Von tunlan of the Guardian argued that the film presented a simplified black and white portrayal of the Iraq War and that it features the Distortion of facts into unreliable myths based upon previous Legends 104 David motra of Salon criticized the movie's focus on physical rather than moral courage as the ultimate manly virtue 105 Cavalry Scout sniper Garrett Reen hogen stated that he did not view Iraqi civilians as Savages but as part of a friendly culture for which the movie has furthered ignorance fear and bigotry 106 Inu Kang of furp gave the film a negative review saying director Clint Eastwood's focus on Kyle is so tight that no other character including wife tea Sienna Miller comes through as a person and the scope so narrow that the film engages only superficially with the many moral issues surrounding the Iraq War 107 several other articles have also been critical of the movie 108 billion 109 million 110 And1 responding to critics Eastwood said that American Sniper shows what war does to the people left behind 112 and that presenting the fact of what war does to the family and the people who have to go back into civilian life like Chris Kyle did is the biggest anti-war statement any film can make 113 he stated one of my favorite war movies that I've been involved with is Letters From iojima and that was about family about being taken away from life being sent someplace in World War II everybody just sort of went home and got over it now there is some effort to help people through it 113 he also said I was a child growing up during World War II That was supposed to be the one to end all wars and four years later I was standing at the draft board being drafted during the Korean conflict and then after that there was Vietnam and it goes on and on forever I just wonder does this ever stop and no it doesn't so each time we get in these conflicts it deserves a lot of thought before we go waiting in or waiting out going in coming out it needs a better thought process I think 114 Bradley Cooper stated that much of the criticism ignores that the film was about widespread neglect of returning veterans and that people who take issue with Kyle should redirect their attention to the leaders who put the troops there in the first place he said we looked at hopefully igniting attention about the lack of care that goes to vets any discussion that has nothing to do with vets or what we do did or did not do for them every conversation in those terms is moving farther and farther from what our soldiers go through and the fact that 22 veterans commit suicide each day Cooper said that an increasing number of soldiers are returning from conflict psychologically damaged only to be more or less discarded 115 former First Lady Michelle Obama and former Republican party Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin also spoke out in support report of the movie 116,117 M 18 historical accuracy several major news sources commented on the accuracy of the film and how it differs from Chris Kyle's written accounts the enemy sniper Mustafa is a major character in the film but receives only a small mention in the Memoir Kyle noted I never saw him but other snipers later killed an Iraqi sniper we think was him 19120 according to the Memoir Kyle's 2100 yard shot was taken against an Insurgent holding a rocket launcher not Mustafa 120 121 time notes that according to screenwriter Jason Hall Kyle said of Mustafa he shot my friend I'm not going to put his name in my book 122 the first combat scene in the film has Kyle killing a boy and mother who tried to attack US troops with a grenade the boy was added for the film 119 mil 12122 The film's Narrative has Navy SEAL Ryan bigle job dying from surgical complications from an operation on his face relatively soon after being shot in Iraq but in reality it was several years later 12121 the character the butcher was created for the film 11912 although this character may have been based on the real life Abu Dera or Ahmad Hashim as Al isawi 119 the visual blog information is beautiful stated that while taking creative license into account the film was 56.9% accurate when compared to real life events summarizing a lot of the events in the movie did happen although Kyle's involvement in them was repeatedly exaggerated 123 in the film Kyle decides to join the Navy after watching the 1998 United States Embassy bombings on TV in reality this did not contribute to his decision 124 prop baby one aspect of the film that received negative comment was its use of a fake baby doll in one scene which was said to look obviously artificial and that it was a distraction to critics and viewers 125 in at least one media screening of the film The Audience laughed out loud at how artificial the doll appeared 12 6 when discussing the film's prospects for winning an Academy Award Vango critic Dave carger said the reason why American Sniper is not going to win is because of the plastic baby 127 in the telegraph journalist Mark Harris said that plastic baby is going to be rationalized by Eastwood aour cultists until the end of days 128 in response screenwriter Jason Hall replied hate to ruin the fun but real baby hack HH one showed up with a fever real baby hash 2 was no show Clint voice gimme the doll kid American Sniper is a 2014 American biographical War drama film directed and co-produced by Clint Eastwood and written and executive produced by Jason Hall based on the Memoir American Sniper the autobiography of the most lethal sniper in US military history 2012 by Chris Kyle with Scott McKuen and Jim defis the film follows the life of Kyle who became the deadliest Marksman in US military history with 255 kills from four tours in the Iraq War 160 of which were officially confirmed by the Department of Defense five while Kyle was celebrated for his military successes his tours of Duty took a heavy toll on his personal and family life it stars Bradley Cooper as Kyle and Sienna Miller as his wife tea with Luke Grimes Jake mcdorman Cory Hardrick Kevin LAX naid Negan and car O'Donnell in supporting roles American Sniper premiered at the American Film Institute Festival on November 11th 2014 and had a limited theatrical release in the United States on December 25th 2014 followed by a wide release on January 16 2015 it received mostly positive reviews with praise for Cooper's lead performance and eastwoods Direction although it also retracted some controversy over its portrayal of both the Iraq War and Kyle himself the film grossed over 547 million worldwide making it the 13th highest grossing film of 2014 the highest grossing film with a wide release during the month of January and Eastwood's highest grossing film to date citation needed at the 87th Academy Awards American Sniper received six nominations including best picture best adapted screenplay and best actor for Cooper ultimately winning one for best sound editing growing up in Texas Chris Kyle is taught by his father how to shoot a rifle and hunt deer years later Chris has become a ranch hand and Rodeo Cowboy and returns home early to find his girlfriend in bed with another man after telling her to leave he is mulling it over with his brother when he sees news coverage of the 1998 Embassy bombings and decides to enlist in the Navy he qualifies for special training and becomes a sniper with the US Navy Seals Chris meets tea studabaker at an Irish pub in San Diego and the two soon marry he is sent to Iraq after the September 11th attacks his first kills are a woman and boy who attacked US Marines on patrol with a russian-made rkg 3 anti-tank grenade Chris is visibly upset by the experience but later earns the nickname legend for his many kills assigned to hunt for the al-Qaeda leader Abu musab alzarka Chris interrogates a family whose father offers to lead the seals to the butcher Al Zara's second in command the plan goes arai when the butcher captures the father and his son killing them while Chris is pinned down by a sniper this sniper goes by the name Mustafa and is an Olympic Games medalist from Syria meanwhile the insurgents issue a bounty on Chris Chris returns home to his wife and the birth of his son he is distracted by memories of his War experiences and by Tea's concern for them as a couple she wishes he would focus on his home and family Chris leaves for a second tour and is promoted to chief petty officer involved in a shootout with the butcher he helps in killing him when he returns home to a newborn daughter Chris becomes increasingly dist from his family on Chris's third tour Mustafa seriously injures a unit member Ryan bigle job and the unit is evacuated back to base when they decide to return to the field and continue the mission another seal Marly is killed by gunfire guilt compels Chris to undertake a fourth tour and TAA tells him she may not be there when he returns back in Iraq Chris is shocked to learn bigles died in surgery to repair the wounds he sustained assigned to kill Mustafa who has been sniping US Army combat engineers building a barricade Chris's sniper team is placed on a rooftop inside enemy territory Chris spots Mustafa and takes him out with a risky long distance shot at 2100 yd 1 920m but this exposes his team's position to numerous armed insurgents in the midst of the gunfight and low on ammunition Chris tearfully called calls ta and tells her he is ready to come home a sandstorm provides concealment for a chaotic Escape in which he is injured and almost Left Behind after Chris gets back stateside on edge and unable to adjust fully to civilian life he is asked by a veteran affairs psychiatrist if he is haunted by all the things he did in war when he replies it is all the guys he couldn't save that haunt him the psychiatrist encourages him to help severely wounded veterans in the VA hospital after that Chris gradually begins to adjust to home life years later on February 2nd 2013 Chris says goodbye to his wife and family as he leaves in good spirits to spend time with Eddie Ray ralth a veteran suffering from PTSD at a shooting range an on-screen subtitle reveals that Chris was killed that day by Ralph followed by archive footage of crowds standing along the highway for his funeral proc session more are shown attending his memorial service casting on March 14th 2014 Sia Miller joined the cast 16 on March 16th 2014 Kyle gallner was cast 17 as was Corey Hardrick on March 18 2014 18 on March 20th 2014 Navid Negan Eric Close Eric ladin Ray gigos and Jake mcdorman also joined the cast 1920 as did Luke Grimes and Sam joerger on March 25th 2014 2 22 Kevin LAX a former Navy SEAL was also cast and served as a technical adviser 23 another former Navy SEAL Joel Lambert also joined the film portraying a Delta sniper 24 on June 3rd Max Charles was added to the cast to portray Kyle's son Colton Kyle 25 filming principal photography began on March 31st 2014 in Los Angeles 26 witty additional filming in Morocco 27 on April 23rd the Los Angeles Times reported that 10 days of filming set in an Afghan Village was set to begin at the blue cloud Movie Ranch in the Santa Clarita area 28 on May 7th shooting of the film was spotted around El Centro a milk factory was used as the abandoned date Factory which insurgents Clos in on from all directions at the climax of the film 2930 the pier and bar scenes were filmed in Seal Beach California 31 cinematographer Tom Stern shot the film with ar Alexa XT digital cameras and Panavision c e and series anamorphic lenses 32 the film is Eastwood's second to be shot digitally after Jersey Boys 33 music there is no music by credit on this film Clint Eastwood who has composed the scores for most of his films since Mystic River 23 is credited as the composer of tees theme Joseph s Debbie C is credited as composer of additional music and as music editor 3D 435 the film also features the song Someone Like You by Van Morrison which plays during the wedding scene and the funeral by ano American Sniper grossed 300 50.1 million in North America and $197 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $547.00 million against a budget of around $58 million for calculating in all expenses and revenues deadline Hollywood estimated that the film made a profit of $243 million making it the second most profitable film of 2014 only behind paramounts Transformers age of Extinction 37 worldwide it is the highest grossing War film of all time breaking Saving Private Ryan's record 38 and Eastwood's highest grossing film to date it is the seventh R-rated film to gross over $500 million 39 North America American Sniper premiered at the Fe Fest on November 11th 2014 just after a screening of Selma at Gran's Egyptian Theater in Los Angeles 47 in North America the film opened to a limited release on December 25th 2014 playing at four theaters 2 in New York one in Los Angeles and one in Dallas and earned $610,000 in its opening weekend $850,000 including Christmas Day at an average of $150 $2500 per venue debuting at hh22 48 and 49 the following week the film earned 67 69009 playing at the same number of locations at an average of $169 $277 per Theater which is the second biggest weekend average ever for a liveaction movie previously held by 2001's Mullen Rouge 50 American Sniper holds the record for the most entries in the top 20 top weekend theater averages with three entries at hash 12 # 14 and # 17 it earned a total of 3.4 million ion from limited release in three weekends 51 the film began its wide debut across North American theaters on January 16th 2015 Thursday night showings began at 700 p.m. 52 it said an all-time highest Thursday night opening record for an R-rated drama with $5.3 million previously held by Lone Survivor 535d 455 the film topped the box office on its opening day grossing $30.5 million including Thursday previews from 3555 theaters setting January records for both biggest debut opening previously held by Cloverfield and single day gross previously held by Avatar 565 758 in its traditional 3-day opening the film earned $ 89.2 million which was double than expected and broke the record for the largest January opening previously held by Ride Along 59 and the largest winter opening 60 which is also Eastwood's top opening as a director breaking grand trino opening the 3-day opening is also the biggest opening weekend for a drama film previously held by The Passion of the Christ 62 the second biggest debut for a Best Picture Oscar nominee behind Toy Story 3 63 the second biggest debut for an R-rated film behind the Matrix Reloaded and the third biggest for a non-comic book non-fantasy SL SciFi film behind Furious 7 and Fast and Furious 6 6364 it also set an a Max January opening and single weekend record with $10.6 million previously held by Avatar in its fourth weekend and an R rated a Max debut record previously held by Prometheus 65 it earned 17.2 million during its 4-day Martin Luther King weekend setting a record for the biggest rated 4-day gross 66 in its second weekend the film expanded to 3,75 theaters making it the second widest launch for an R-rated movie Behind the film itself 6768 it grossed an estimated $ 64.6 million in its second weekend declining only by 28% and set the record for the second best hold ever for a movie opening to more than $85 million and also set the record for the eighth largest second weekend gross 6970 in just 10 days of release the film surpassed Pearl Harbor 98.5 million to become the second highest grossing War film in North America 71 by its second weekend box office mojo had already reported that the film was on Poise to become the highest grossing film of 2014 in North America a record that was at the time held by The Hunger Games mocking J part won $334 million judging from its gradual decline and strong holdovers 72 it became the highest grossing IMAX film of January grossing $18.8 million from 333 IMAX theaters 73 on Thursday January 29th 2015 35 days after its initial release the film surpassed Saving Private Ryan $26.5 Million to become the highest grossing War film in North America unadjusted for inflation 74 by its third weekend of wide release the film expanded to 3 885 theaters 180 additional theaters added breaking its own record of being the widest R-rated film ever released 7576 the film topped the box office through its third weekend earning $3.66 million which is the second highest super Bowl weekend gross behind Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus Best of Both Worlds concert 77 after topping the box office for three consecutive weekends the film was overtaken by The SpongeBob Movie sponge Out of Water in its fourth weekend 46 outside North America the film had the biggest debut weekend for a Clint Eastwood film and went on to become the director's top grossing film of all time in each of the countries in which it was released 78 in Italy the film opened at number two with $7.1 million Eastwood's best opening of all time and Warner Bros second biggest opening for a non-franchise US Film there 79 it went on to top the box office the following weekend as well 80 its other largest openings occurred in France 6.3 million 81 where it topped the box office for four consecutive weekends 82 a Australia $4.3 million $4.6 million including previews 83 the UK Ireland and Malta $3.8 million 84 Spain $3.2 million Japan $2.8 million Mexico $2.6 million Brazil $1.8 million and South Korea $1.2 million 81 in total earnings its largest market outside of the US are Italy 23 Mill milon and France $22.8 million 85 critical response on Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 72% based on 294 reviews with an average rating of six 9010 the website's critical consensus States powered by Clint Eastwood's short-handed Direction and a gripping Central performance from Bradley Cooper American Sniper delivers a t Vivid tribute to its real life subject 86 on Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 73 out of 100 based on 48 critics indicating generally favorable reviews 87 in cinemascore polls conducted during the opening weekend audiences gave American Sniper a rare grade of a Plus on an A plus to f scale 88 Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter called the film a tot Vivid and sad account of the brief life of the most accomplished Marksman in American Military annals 89 Justin Chang of variety gave the film a positive review saying an excellent performance from a bulked up Bradley Cooper this harrowing and intimate character study offers fairly blunt insights into the physical and psychological toll exacted on the front lines 90 David Denby of the New Yorker gave the film a positive review saying both a devastating war movie and a devastating anti-war movie A subdued celebration of A Warrior's skill and a sorrowful lament over his alienation and misery 91 Keith fips of the dissolve wrote that the film while wellmade missed a chance to explore the toll that such service exacts on soldiers 92 Chris nasti of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a C+ saying the film's just a repetition of context free combat missions and one-dimensional targets 93 Elizabeth whitesman of New York Daily News gave the film four out of five stars saying the best movies are ever shifting intelligent and openhearted enough to expand alongside an audience American Sniper is built on this Foundation of uncommon compassion 94 Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film three and a half stars out of four saying Bradley Cooper as Navy SEAL Chris Kyle and director eastwoods salute Kyle's patriotism best by not denying its toll their targets are clearly in sight and their aim is true 95 ignit vishnevetsky of the AF Club gave the film a b saying American Sniper is imperfect and a times a little corny but also ambivalent and complicated in ways that are uniquely East woodan 96 James bardelli of Real views gave the film three and a half stars out of four saying American Sniper lift director Clint Eastwood out of the doldrums that have plagued his last few films 97 Rafer Guzman of Newsday gave the film three out of four stars saying Cooper Nails the role of an American killing machine in Clint Eastwood's cleare eyed look at the Iraq War 98 Kenneth Tran of the Los Angeles Times gave the film a positive review saying Eastwood's impeccably crafted action sequences so catch us up in the chaos of combat we are almost not aware that we're watching a film at all 99 Claudia Puig of USA Today gave the film three out of four stars saying it's clearly Cooper's show substantially bulked up and affecting a believable Texas draw Cooper embodies Kyle's confidence intensity and vulnerability 100 Joshua Roth cop of timeout New York gave the film four out of five stars saying only Clint Eastwood could make a movie about an Iraq war veteran and Infuse it with doubts Mission anxiety and ruination 101 Dean obidala praised the film saying his Focus was not on whom we were fighting but the unbearably high price Americans pay for Waging War regardless of its Target the film is a cautionary tale for Americans about why we must avoid war it is not a celebration of waging it 102 the film drew some negative reviews Matt tabi in Rolling Stone wrote that the movie turned the complicated moral questions and mass Bloodshed of the Iraq War into a black and white fairy tale without presenting the historical context 103 Alex Von tunlan of the Guardian argued that the film presented a simplified black and white portrayal of the Iraq War and that it features the Distortion of facts into unreliable myths based upon previous Legends 104 David motra of Salon criticized the movie's focus on physical rather than moral courage as the ultimate manly virtue 105 Cavalry Scout sniper Garrett Reen Hogan stated that he did not view Iraqi civilians as Savages but as part of a friendly culture for which the movie has furthered ignorance fear and bigotry 106 Inu Kang of furp gave the film a negative review saying director Clint Eastwood's focus on Kyle is so tight that no other character including wife tea Sienna Miller comes through as a person and the scope so narrow that the film engages only superficially with the many moral issues surrounding the Iraq War 107 several other articles have also been critical of the movie 108 billi 109 million 110 and 111 responding to critics Eastwood said that American Sniper shows what war does to the people left behind 112 and that presenting the fact of what war does to the and the people who have to go back into civilian life like Chris Kyle did is the biggest anti-war statement any film can make 113 he stated one of my favorite war movies that I've been involved with is Letters From iojima and that was about family about being taken away from life being sent someplace in World War II everybody just sort of went home and got over it now there is some effort to help people through it 13 He also said I was a child growing up during World War II That was supposed to be the one to end all wars and four years later I was standing at the draft board being drafted during the Korean conflict and then after that there was Vietnam and it goes on and on forever I just wonder does this ever stop and no it doesn't so each time we get in these conflicts it deserves a lot of thought before we go waiting in or waiting out out going in or coming out it needs a better thought process I think 114 Bradley Cooper stated that much of the criticism ignores that the film was about widespread neglect of returning veterans and that people who take issue with Kyle should redirect their attention to the leaders who put the troops there in the first place he said we looked at hopefully igniting attention about the lack of care that goes to vets any discussion that has nothing to do with vets or what we did or did not do for them every conversation in those terms is moving farther and farther from what our soldiers go through and the fact that 22 veterans commit suicide each day Cooper said that an increasing number of soldiers are returning from conflict psychologically damaged only to be more or less discarded 115 former First Lady Michelle Obama and former Republican party Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin also spoke out in support of the movie 116,117 M1 18 historical accuracy several major news sources commented on the accuracy of the film and how it differs from Chris Kyle's written accounts the enemy sniper Mustafa is a major character in the film but receives only a small mention in the Memoir Kyle noted I never saw him but other snipers later killed an Iraqi sniper we think was him 1191 12 according to the Memoir Kyle's 2100 yard shot was taken against an Insurgent holding a rocket launcher not Mustafa 120 121 time notes that according to screenwriter Jason Hall Kyle said of Mustafa he shot my friend I'm not going to put his name in my book 122 the first combat scene in the film has Kyle killing a boy and mother who tried to attack US troops with a grenade the boy was added for the film 119 mil 12122 The film's Narrative has Navy SEAL Ryan bigle job dying from surgical complications from an operation on his face relatively soon after being shot in Iraq but in reality it was several years later 1201 21 the character the butcher was created for the film 11912 although this character may have been based on the real life Abu daa or Ahmad Hashim ABD Al isawi 119 the visual blog information is beautiful stated that while taking creative license into account the film was 56.9% accurate when compared to real life events summarizing a lot of the events in the movie did happen although Kyle's involvement in them was repeatedly exaggerated 123 in the film Kyle decides to join the Navy after watching the 199 8 United States Embassy bombings on TV in reality this did not contribute to his decision 124 prop baby one aspect of the film that received negative comment was its use of a fake baby doll in one scene which was said to look obviously artificial and that it was a distraction to critics and viewers 125 in at least one media screening of the film The Audience laughed out loud at how artificial the doll appeared appeared 126 when discussing the film's prospects for winning an Academy Award Fango critic Dave carger said the reason why American Sniper is not going to win is because of the plastic baby 127 in the telegraph journalist Mark Harris said that plastic baby is going to be rationalized by Eastwood aour cultists until the end of days 128 in response screenwriter Jason Hall replied hate to ruin the fun but real baby hash one showed up with a fever real baby hash 2 was no show Clint voice gimme the doll kid American Sniper is a 2014 American biographical War drama film directed and co-produced by Clint Eastwood and written and executive produced by Jason Hall based on the Memoir American Sniper the autobiography of the most lethal sniper in US military history 2012 by Chris Kyle with Scott McKuen and Jim fellis the film follows the life of Kyle who became the deadliest Marksman in US military history with 255 kills from four tours in the Iraq War 160 of which were officially confirmed by the Department of Defense five while Kyle was celebrated for his military successes his tours of Duty took a heavy toll on his personal and family life it stars Bradley Cooper as Kyle and Sienna Miller as his wife tea with Luke grindes Jake mcdorman Corey Hardrick Kevin LAX Navid Negan and car O'Donnell in supporting roles American Sniper premiered at the American Film Institute Festival on November 11th 2014 and had a limited theatrical release in the United States on December 25th 2014 followed by a wide release on January 16 2015 it received mostly positive reviews with praise for Cooper's lead performance and eastwoods direction although it also attracted some controversy over its portrayal of both the Iraq War and Kyle himself the film grossed over $547 million worldwide making it the 13th highest grossing film of 2014 the highest grossing film with a wide release during the month of January and Eastwood's highest grossing film to date citation needed at the 87th Academy Awards American Sniper received six nominations including best picture best adapted screenplay and best actor for Cooper ultimately winning one for best sound editing growing up in Texas Chris Kyle is taught by his father how to shoot a rifle and hunt deer years later Chris has become a ranch hand and Rodeo Cowboy and returns home early to find his girlfriend in bed with another man after telling her to leave he is mulling it over with his brother when he sees news coverage of the 199 ads Embassy bombings and decides to enlist in the Navy he qualifies for special training and becomes a sniper with the US Navy Seals Chris meets tea studabaker at an Irish pub in San Diego and the two soon marry he is sent to Iraq after the September 11th attacks his first kills are a woman and boy who attacked US Marines on patrol with a russian-made rkg 3 anti-tank grenade Chris is visibly upset by the experience but later earns the nickname legend for his many kills assigned to hunt for the al-Qaeda leader Abu muab alzar kawi Chris interrogates a family whose father offers to lead the seals to the butcher Al Zara's second in command the plan goes Ary when the butcher captures the father and his son killing them while Chris is pinned down by a sniper this sniper goes by the name Mustafa and is an Olympic Games medalist from Syria meanwhile the insurgents issue a bounty on Chris Chris returns home to his wife and the birth of his son he is distracted by memories of his War experiences and by Tea's concern for them as a couple she wishes he would focus on his home and family Chris leaves for a second tour and is promoted to chief petty officer involved in a shootout with the butcher he helps in killing him when he returns home to a newborn daughter Chris becomes increasingly distant from his family on Chris's third tour Mustafa seriously injures a unit member Ryan bigle job and the unit is evacuated back to base when they