Reaction in Baghdad to ‘American Sniper’ Will Surprise You
By Sussanah George. When Gaith Mohammed, a young man in his twenties with a degree in accounting, went to see “American Sniper” during its opening week at Baghdad’s Mansour Mall, he says the theater was full and rowdy.
“Some people watching were just concentrating, but others were screaming ‘F*ck, shoot him! He has an IED, don’t wait for permission!!’” Mohammed laughed, recounting the film’s many tense scenes when US Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle, played by Bradley Cooper, radios in for authorization to take out a potential threat in his crosshairs . . .
Mohammed says one of the film’s opening scenes, when Kyle spots a woman and child who appear to be preparing to attack US troops during the initial invasion of Iraq, had the entire audience on the edge of their seats.
“When the sniper was hesitating to shoot [the child holding the RPG] everyone was yelling ‘Just shoot him!’” he said. (Read more about the reaction in Baghdad HERE)
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‘American Sniper’ Sets Super Bowl Weekend Record With $31.8 Million
By Brent Lang. “American Sniper” is nearing the $250 million mark after picking up $31.8 million to set a new Super Bowl weekend record.
The previous high-water mark for football’s big weekend was “Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour,” which nabbed $31.2 million when it premiered in 2008.
If it continues on this torrid clip, Clint Eastwood’s biopic of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle could challenge “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1” as the highest-grossing 2014 release and will pass “The Matrix Reloaded” to become the second-biggest R-rated release in history. It has earned $248.9 million — an unbelievable result for an adult drama about such hard-hitting topics as war and its psychological effects.
“These are superhero movie numbers,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Rentrak. “People are hearing about this movie, talking about it and I imagine it’s leading them to see it multiple times to get to these type of numbers.” (Read more from this story HERE)
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