Following news of "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1" release on Blu-ray and Digital HD this week, media outlets have reported that the latest Jennifer Lawrence-starring film no longer holds the position of the highest grossing release of 2014 handing the crown over to American Sniper.
Clint Eastwood's war drama "American Sniper" has surpassed the latest installment in the "Hunger Games" franchise to become the top grossing domestic film of 2014, with an estimated $337.3 million haul as of last weekend. The film has also just crossed the $500 million benchmark worldwide, overtaking Lionsgate's "Mockingjay" as the highest-grossing 2014 movie globally, according to Deadline.
The Bradley Cooper-starring war film is said to have been breaking overseas box office since it debuted in Italy in January, where it earned a massive $7.1 million. The movie has become Eastwood's top title of all time, making the biggest debut weekend in virtually every market it has been shown, Deadline reported. According to the film's distributor Warner Bros., "American Sniper" is also the highest-grossing movie of Bradley Cooper's career.
"The film's success speaks to director Clint Eastwood's brilliance and Bradley Cooper's amazing performance as well as this massively heroic soldier Chris Kyle. His story resonated so completely, not just here in the U.S., but around the world," Warner Bros. distribution EVP stated.
The Bradley Cooper biopic film about America's most accomplished marksman, Chris Kyle, is described as "a pretty cut-and-dry action film" that "struck a cultural chord with viewers all over the country, regardless of political affiliation and geography," according to a Forbes report.
Since it opened to a limited release on Christmas Day last year and a wide release in January, "American Sniper" has become "an instant hot topic among general moviegoers and the film critic circles," said the report. So far, Clint Eastwood's war drama is the 32nd highest grossing movie of all time in the U.S. and the 14th top grossing among non-sequels.
Now whether "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2," set to be released later this year, will surpass "American Sniper" records is yet to be seen. Regardless, the Katniss Everdeen fever is apparently still on, as "Mockingjay Part 1" Blu-ray and DVD versions reportedly dominated this week's releases.
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