CLOSE 'American Sniper' topped the U.S. box office with takings of $90 million, a record for a January opening. The film, directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Bradley Cooper as Navy Seal Chris Kyle, performed twice as well as studio estimates. VPC 
 
 "American Sniper," with Kyle Gallner, left, and Bradley Cooper, was No. 1 at the weekend box office. (Photo: Warner Bros.) 
 
 Clint Eastwood's American Sniper ignited the holiday weekend box office, leaving January records behind as it made a stunning $90.2 million in three days. 
 
 The total easily topped the previous January high, James Cameron's Avatar at $68 million in 2010. Warner Bros. estimates that American Sniper will make $105 million over the four-day Martin Luther King weekend, which would be another record. 
 
 CLOSE "American Sniper" tells the story of U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle who the military credits with the most confirmed kills of any marksman in American history. Starring Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller. Directed by Clint Eastwood. VPC 
 
 "This is staggering. It's blockbuster numbers in January, the sort of numbers usually reserved for summer films and superhero movies," says Paul Dergarabedian, senior analyst for Rentrak. "No one saw this coming. The film has been building an audience and blasting any projections all weekend." 
 
 The $105 million tally is more than double what analysts were expecting, Dergarabedian says. It marks director Eastwood's biggest debut, surpassing Gran Torino, which earned $29.5 million in 2008. American Sniper topped that with Friday's $30.5 million opening. The estimated IMAX total on 332 screens for the four-day weekend is $11.5 million (yet another record). 
 
 American Sniper, with Bradley Cooper starring as Navy SEAL sharpshooter Chris Kyle, initially opened in December to packed theaters in limited release — making nearly $3.4 million on a handful of screens in Los Angeles, New York and Dallas. It got a boost from Thursday's Oscar nominations, receiving six, including best picture and Cooper for best actor. 
 
 The film has maintained a coveted A-plus CinemaScore with audiences throughout its release. 
 
 CLOSE Doug Harris played by Josh Gad is a lovable but socially awkward groom-to-be with a problem: he has no best man, so he turns to a best-man-for-hire to help him out. VPC 
 
 Josh Gad and Kevin Hart's The Wedding Ringer took second place with $21 million for the three-day weekend (an estimated $25 million for four days). The raunchy R-rated comedy is the fourth Hart film in a row to open with more than $20 million. 
 
 The comedy overcame a 33% critical approval rating on RottenTomatoes.com and scored 79% approval with audiences. 
 
 CLOSE A young bear named Paddington makes his way to England in search of a new home, the family that takes him in begins to treat him as one of their own. VPC 
 
 Live-action family film Paddington took third place with $19.3 million ($24 million projected for the holiday weekend). The film, based on the beloved bear star of the children's books, scored well with critics (98% approval on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences (87%) alike. 
 
 
 
 
 
 CLOSE Ex-covert operative Bryan Mills played by Liam Neeson and his ex-wife, Lenore, are enjoying a reconciliation when Lenore is brutally murdered in 'Taken 3.' Neeson is framed for the crime and flees, with the CIA, FBI and police all in hot pursuit. VPC 
 
 Liam Neeson's Taken 3 fell to fourth after winning the box office last weekend. The film earned $14 million for three days and an expected $16.4 million for the long weekend. 
 
 Appropriately, director Ava DuVernay's Selma rounded out the top five films with $8.3 million for the three-day weekend, and an estimated $10.3 million for the full MLK holiday. 
 
 If estimates hold up, this will be a record Martin Luther King weekend, with $240 million total through Monday, propelled by Sniper. That would beat 2009's record MLK weekend of $231.5 million for the four days when Paul Blart: Mall Cop made its debut. 
 
 
 
 
 
 CLOSE USA Today Movie Critic Claudia Puig discusses "Blackhat" and tell you whether to "Catch It," "Rent It," or "Skip It" in this week's edition of The Screening Room. 
 
 Perhaps the weekend's only disappointment was the debut of the Chris Hemsworth-starring Blackhat, which earned $4 million for the weekend ($4.6 million for the four-day). The hacker film directed by Michael Mann scored a C-minus with audiences on CinemaScore. 
 
 Final numbers are expected Tuesday. 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1Bo8Gox ||||| Former Navy Seals Sniper Chris Kyle, is pictured in this handout photo from Harper Collins. Kyle, the former U.S. Navy SEAL sniper who was responsible for 160 kills during his career as U.S. Navy SEAL sniper, was shot and killed with another man at a gun range on February 2,... 
 
 The cover of American Sniper, written by Navy Seals Sniper Chris Kyle, is pictured in this handout photo from Harper Collins. Kyle, the former U.S. Navy SEAL sniper who was responsible for 160 kills during his career as U.S. Navy SEAL sniper, was shot and killed with another... 
 
 Eddie Ray Routh is pictured in this booking photo provided by the Erath County Sheriff’s Office. Routh is a suspect in the shooting and killing of former Navy SEAL Sniper Chris Kyle. 
 
 The man accused of gunning down former U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, a prominent military sniper, and a second man at a Texas shooting range has been arraigned on two counts of capital murder, the Texas Department of Public Safety said on Sunday. 
 
 Eddie Ray Routh, 25, was accused of killing Kyle, 38, and Chad Littlefield, 35, a neighbor of Kyle, on Saturday afternoon at the Rough Creek Lodge, about 50 miles southwest of Fort Worth, the department said. 
 
 "They were shot at close range," said department spokesman Sergeant Lonny Haschel said. 
 
 Kyle, considered one of America's deadliest snipers after killing 160 people during his career as U.S. Navy SEAL sniper, wrote the book "American Sniper" about his military service from 1999 to 2009. 
 
 Routh, described in local media reports as a former Marine who suffered from post traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD), was arrested at his Lancaster, Texas home several hours after the shooting, having led police on a chase in his pickup truck. 
 
 "He was taken into custody after a brief pursuit," Haschel said. 
 
 According to a posting on a website run by members of the Special Operations Forces community, Kyle had been volunteering his time to help Marine Corps veterans suffering from PTSD and mentoring them. 
 
 "Part of this process involved taking these veterans to the range," said the posting on SOFREP.com. 
 
 WFAA-TV in Dallas-Fort Worth reported that the two men had taken Routh to the shooting range for the day to help him deal with his PTSD. 
 
 Routh was arraigned at the Lancaster municipal jail on Saturday on two counts of capital murder, a spokesman for the department of public safety said. The Erath County Sheriff's Office planned a news conference later on Sunday. 
 
 "It just comes as a shock and it's staggering to think that after all Chris has been through, that this is how he meets his end, because there are so many ways he could have been killed" in Iraq, Scott McEwen, who wrote the book with Kyle, told Reuters. 
 
 Kyle served four combat tours of duty in Iraq and elsewhere, and he won two Silver Stars and five Bronze Stars for bravery, according to his book. 
 
 After leaving the Navy, Kyle founded Craft International, a firm that provided combat and weapons training to military, police, corporate and civilian clients. 
 
 Kyle is the co-author of another book coming out in May titled "American Gun - A History of the U.S. in Ten Firearms." 
 
 In the wake of the slayings of 20 children and six adults at a school in Newtown, Connecticut in December, Kyle was interviewed in January about rising calls for curbing U.S. gun violence. He told the website guns.com he favored arming teachers who have been screened and trained and spoke against restrictions on gun owners. 
 
 (Reporting by Barbara Goldberg; Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Will Dunham)
– Chris Kyle's book calls him the US military's deadliest sniper—but is he the world's? Not according to a British report that credits a Royal Navy sharpshooter with tallying the most kills, the Sun reports via the Telegraph. Unnamed sources say the British corporal is still serving and has 173 confirmed kills, most of them during Britain's deployment in Helmut province in 2006 and 2007. He is said to have killed 90 enemies in a single day. Kyle, whose story is told in the film American Sniper, officially had 160 kills but guessed his true total was about 250. British armed forces refuse to name their guy for fear of revenge attacks. Meanwhile, the Hollywood Reporter says American Sniper banked a stunning $30.7 million this weekend, nearly breaking a Super Bowl-weekend record.