Blockbuster: The Story of American Sniper

"American Sniper" is on track to make $200 million in its first ten days of nationwide release, a feat matched by only a few R-rated films in Hollywood history. The Oscar-nominated Iraq War movie, starring Bradley Cooper as the legendary sniper Chris Kyle, may go on to beat 2004's "The Passion of the Christ," which currently ranks as the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time. The movie came out nationwide on January 16 and instantly topped box office expectations. It's continuing to do so: "American Sniper" earned $18.3 million on Friday and another $28.8 million on Saturday. The movie's distributor, Warner Bros., expects it to to make $17.3 million on Sunday, for a weekend total of $64.4 million -- giving the studio one of the top ten "second weekends" in Hollywood history. For perspective, the country's next biggest movie release this weekend is "The Boy Next Door," starring Jennifer Lopez. It is on track to make $15 million for the whole weekend. As "American Sniper" has made millions, it has generated new conversation -- and controversy -- about the Iraq War and about Kyle, who was said to have 160 "confirmed kills" during the war. On Friday night Bill Maher called Kyle a "psychopath patriot." (Source: CNN)