American Sniper Has $30.5 Million Friday, Projected For $100 Million In First Four Days

On the heels of a number of award nominations and wins in recent days, the Bradley Cooper vehicle American Sniper has generated more than $30 million already at the domestic box office en route to a $100 million holiday weekend.

Martin Luther King, Jr. day is on Monday, and the extra day off from work and school for many Americans is expected to pump up the box office numbers for this movie as well as the box office at large.

The Clint Eastwood-directed drama, based on the controversial autobiography from former sniper Chris Kyle, is the Dirty Harry star's latest paean to gun culture, starring Guardians of the Galaxy's Bradley Cooper as Kyle, who died in 2013.

The $100 million opening frame will make American Sniper the highest-grossing nominee in the Best Picture category at the Academy Awards, beating out the $60 million for The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Sniper will be followed by The Wedding Ringer, which will make $21 million this weekend and $24 million for the four-day period; Paddington ($18 million/$24 million four-day); Taken 3 ($14 million/$16.5 million four-day) and fellow Best Picture nominee Selma ($8 million/$10 million four-day), according to estimates at Box Office Mojo.