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American Sniper
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Clint Eastwood
Written by	Jason Hall
Produced by	Clint Eastwood Robert Lorenz Andrew Lazar Bradley Cooper Peter Morgan
Starring	Bradley Cooper Sienna Miller
Cinematography	Tom Stern
Edited by	Joel Cox Gary D. Roach
Production companies	Village Roadshow Pictures Mad Chance Productions 22nd & Indiana Pictures Malpaso Productions
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release dates	November 11, 2014 (2014-11-11) (AFI Fest) December 25, 2014 (2014-12-25) (United States)
Running time	133 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$58.8 million
Box office	$247.6 million

American Sniper is a 2014 American biographical war drama film directed by Clint Eastwood and written by Jason Hall. It is based on Chris Kyle's autobiography American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History. With 255 kills, 160 of which were officially confirmed by the Department of Defense, Kyle is the deadliest marksman in U.S. military history. The film stars Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller with Luke Grimes, Kyle Gallner, Sam Jaeger, Jake McDorman, and Cory Hardrict in supporting roles.

The world premiere was on November 11, 2014, at the American Film Institute Festival, followed by a limited theatrical release in the United States on December 25, 2014. It received a wide release on January 16, 2015 and set numerous box office opening records including the records for highest opening for a film released in January and giving Eastwood the biggest opening of his career.

At the 87th Academy Awards, American Sniper received six nominations, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actor for Cooper.

Plot

Growing up in Texas, Chris Kyle's father teaches him how to hunt deer and shoot a rifle. Years later, Kyle is a rodeo cowboy when he sees news coverage of the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings and enlists in the U.S. Navy, where he is eventually accepted for SEAL training, becoming a U.S. Navy SEAL sniper.

Kyle meets Taya Renae at a bar, they marry, and he is sent to Iraq after the September 11 attacks of 2001. His first kills are of a woman and boy who attack U.S. Marines with a grenade. Kyle is visibly upset by the experience, but earns the nickname "Legend" for his many kills. Kyle is assigned to hunt for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. During house-to-house searches in evacuated areas, Kyle interrogates a family and for $100,000 the father offers to lead the SEALs to "The Butcher", second-in-command to al-Zarqawi, and who's favorite torture device is a drill. The plan goes awry when The Butcher captures the father and son and they are both killed while Kyle is pinned down by a sniper using an SVD Dragunov sniper rifle. Meanwhile, the insurgents issue a bounty on Kyle.

Kyle returns home to his wife and the birth of his son. He is distracted by memories of his war experiences, and argues with Taya over bootleg footage of U.S. Marines shot dead by enemy sniper "savages". Taya expresses her concern for them as a couple and wishes Kyle would focus on his home and family.

Kyle leaves for a second tour, promoted to chief petty officer. Kyle is involved in a a shoot out with The Butcher who is located operating out of a ground floor restarurant.

Kyle returns home from his second tour to a newborn daughter and he is increasingly distant from his family. On his third tour, a unit member is seriously injured by the Dragunov sniper and the unit is evacuated back to base. The unit decides to return to the field and continue the mission. Another SEAL is killed by gunfire, compelling Kyle with guilt and duty to undertake a fourth tour. Taya doesn't understand his decision, tells him she needs him, and for a moment, implies that they should stay apart.

On tour four the expert insurgent sniper who uses the SVD Dragunov sniper rifle is identified as "Mustafa", and Kyle is assigned to take him out. Mustafa has been sniping U.S. Army combat engineers building a barricade. Kyle's sniper team is placed on a rooftop inside enemy territory. Kyle spots Mustafa, takes him out with a risky long distance shot at 2100 yards (adding his name to the Longest recorded sniper kills list), and exposes his team position to a large number of armed insurgents. In the midst of the firefight and low on ammunition, Kyle calls Taya and tells her he is ready to come home. A sandstorm provides cover for their chaotic escape in which Kyle is injured and almost left behind.

Kyle returns home, on edge and unable to adjust fully to civilian life. He tells a Veterans Affairs psychiatrist he is "haunted by all the guys he couldn't save". The psychiatrist encourages him to help wounded veterans in the VA hospital. Kyle meets veterans who suffered severe injuries, coaches them at a shooting range in the woods, and gradually begins to adjust to home life.

Years later, on February 2, 2013, Kyle, playful and happy, says goodbye to his wife and family as he leaves to spend time with a veteran at a shooting range. On-screen subtitles reveal: "Kyle was killed that day by a veteran he was trying to help," followed by stock footage of thousands of people standing in line along the highway for his funeral procession. Thousands more are shown attending Cowboys Stadium for his memorial service.

Cast

• Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle
• Sienna Miller as Taya Renae Kyle
• Max Charles as Colton Kyle
• Luke Grimes as Marc Lee
• Kyle Gallner as Goat-Winston
• Sam Jaeger as Captain Martens
• Jake McDorman as Biggles
• Cory Hardrict as 'D' / Dandridge
• Navid Negahban as Sheikh Al-Obodi
• Eric Close as DIA Agent Snead
• Eric Ladin as Squirrel
• Rey Gallegos as Tony
• Kevin Lacz as Dauber
• Brian Hallisay as Captain Gillespie
• Ben Reed as Wayne Kyle
• Elise Robertson as Debby Kyle
• Keir O'Donnell as Jeff Kyle
• Marnette Patterson as Sarah
• Leonard Roberts as Instructor Roll
• Sammy Sheik as Mustafa
• Mido Hamada as The Butcher

Production

On May 24, 2012, it was announced that Warner Bros. had acquired the rights to the book with Bradley Cooper set to produce and star in the screen adaptation. Cooper had thought of Chris Pratt to play Kyle but WB agreed to buy it only if Cooper would star. September 2012, David O. Russell stated that he was interested in directing the film. On May 2, 2013, it was announced that Steven Spielberg would direct. Spielberg had read Kyle's book, though he desired to have a more psychological conflict present in the screenplay so an "enemy sniper" character can serve as the insurgent sharpshooter who was trying to track down and kill Kyle. Spielberg's ideas contributed to the development of a lengthy screenplay approaching 160 pages. Due to Warner Bros.' budget constraints, Spielberg felt he could not bring his vision of the story to the screen. On August 5, 2013, Spielberg dropped out of directing. On August 21, 2013, it was reported that Clint Eastwood would instead direct the film.

Casting

On March 14, 2014, Sienna Miller joined the cast. On March 16, 2014, Kyle Gallner was cast and March 18, 2014, Cory Hardrict was cast in the film. On March 20, 2014, Navid Negahban, Eric Close, Eric Ladin, Rey Gallegos, and Jake McDorman also joined the cast, as did Luke Grimes and Sam Jaeger on March 25, 2014. Kevin Lacz, a former Navy SEAL, was also cast and served as a technical advisor. Another former Navy SEAL, Joel Lambert, also joined the film, portraying a Delta sniper. On June 3, Max Charles was added to the cast to portray Kyle's son, Colton Kyle.

Filming

Principal photography began on March 31, 2014 in Los Angeles; it was also partly shot in Morocco. On April 23, the Los Angeles Times reported that ten days of filming set in an Afghan village was set to begin at the Blue Cloud Movie Ranch in the Santa Clarita area. On May 7, shooting of the film was spotted around El Centro; a milk factory was used as the abandoned date factory which insurgents close in on from all directions at the climax of the film. Later on May 14, Cooper was spotted filming some scenes in Culver City, California, and then he followed by shooting scenes again in Los Angeles on May 16. On May 30, Cooper and Miller were spotted during the filming of their characters' wedding scenes; they were filming aboard a yacht in Marina del Rey. On June 3, Cooper was spotted in the uniform of a Navy SEAL marksman aiming during the filming of some scenes at a Los Angeles shooting range.

Cinematographer Tom Stern shot the film with Arri Alexa XT digital cameras and Panavision C-, E- and G-Series anamorphic lenses. The film is Eastwood's second to be shot digitally, after Jersey Boys.

Reception

Box office

"The movie has become a cultural phenomenon...It tore apart the record book and not by a little. By an enormous amount."

As of January 25, 2015, American Sniper had grossed $200,137,000 in North America the first weekend and $47,500,000 in other territories for a worldwide total of $247,637,000, against a budget of $60 million.

North America

In North America, the film is set to have resonated with audiences in almost every demographic.

Premiere and limited release

American Sniper premiered at the AFI Fest on November 11, 2014, just after a screening of Selma at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles. In North America, the film opened to a limited release on December 25, 2014, playing at four theaters — two in New York, one in Los Angeles, and one in Dallas — and earned $610,000 in its opening weekend ($850,000 including Christmas Day) at an average of $152,500 per venue debuting at #22. The following week the film earned $676,909 playing at the same number of locations at an average of $169,277 per theater, which is the second-biggest weekend average ever for a live-action movie (previously held by 2001's Moulin Rouge!). American Sniper holds the record for the most entries in the top 20 Top Weekend Theater Averages with 3 entries. It earned a total of $3.4 million from limited release in three weekends.

Wide release

Prior to its North American wide debut, various critics and box office insiders predicted that the film would be a significant hit at the box office in its opening weekend, earning a solid score of A+ in CinemaScore, The New York Times Best Seller list status of the memoir, acclaimed leading star Bradley Cooper, and the prominence of Middle Eastern wartime topics in the headlines at that time, such as the numerous ISIS threats and the 2015 Charlie Hebdo attacks. Fandango reported that the film accounted for more than 70% of their pre-ticket sales. The film was also outselling 2013's Lone Survivor, a similar war drama based film. Preliminary reports indicated that the film could open to $45 million to $50 million over the four-day Martin Luther King weekend. Following the announcement that the film was nominated for six Oscars at the 87th Academy Awards (including Best Picture and Best actor for Cooper), critics raised their projection to a $55—$61 million three day opening and a $70+ million four day opening.

The film began its wide debut across North American theaters on January 16, 2015 (Thursday night showings began at 7:00 pm). It set an all-time highest Thursday night opening record for a R-rated drama with $5.3 million (previously held by Lone Survivor with $1.9 million). The film topped the box office on its opening day grossing $30.5 million (including Thursday previews) from 3,555 theaters setting January records for both biggest debut opening (previously held by Cloverfield) and single-day gross (previously held by Avatar). In its traditional three-day opening the film earned $89.2 million which was double than expected and broke the record for the largest January opening (previously held by Ride Along with $41.5 million) and the largest winter opening, which is also Eastwood's top opening as a director surpassing Gran Torino's $29.5 million opening. The three-day opening is also the biggest opening weekend for a drama film (previously held by The Passion of the Christ with $83 million), the second biggest debut for a Best Picture Oscar nominee (behind Toy Story 3 with $109 million), the second biggest debut for an R-rated film (behind The Matrix: Reloaded with $91.8 million), and the second biggest for a non-comic book, non-fantasy/sci-fi film (behind Fast and Furious 6 with $97.3 million). It also set an IMAX opening record with $9.5 million ($11.5 million from Friday to Monday) beating Fox's Prometheus, which made $9 million in 2012. It earned $107.2 million during its four-day Martin Luther King weekend setting a record for the biggest R-rated four day gross.

In its second weekend, the film expanded to 3,705 theaters making it the widest launch for an R-rated movie. It grossed an estimated $64.4 million in its second weekend, declining only by 28%—the best hold ever for a movie opening to more than $85 million. In just 10 days of release, the film surpassed Pearl Harbor ($198.5 million) to became the second highest-grossing war film in North America and is only behind Saving Private Ryan ($216.5 million).

Other territories

In Italy, the film was released on December 31, 2014 and earned $6.72 million (Dealine reported $7.1 million) in its opening weekend.

For the weekend of January 16, 2015, the film expanded in to seven new markets and earned an estimated $9.3 million. This includes $3.8 million in United Kingdom, which is Clint Eastwood's biggest debut ever in that region, $1.2 million in South Korea and $291,149 in New Zealand.

Critical response

American Sniper received positive reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a "Certified Fresh" rating of 73%, based on 203 reviews from critics, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The site's consensus states, "Powered by Clint Eastwood's sure-handed direction and a gripping central performance from Bradley Cooper, American Sniper delivers a tense, vivid tribute to its real-life subject." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 72 out of 100, based on reviews from 45 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". In CinemaScore polls conducted during the opening weekend, cinema audiences gave American Sniper an average grade of A+ on an A+ to F scale.

Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "A taut, vivid and sad account of the brief life of the most accomplished marksman in American military annals, American Sniper feels very much like a companion piece—in subject, theme and quality—to The Hurt Locker." Justin Chang of Variety gave the film a positive review, saying "Hard-wiring the viewer into Kyle’s battle-scarred psyche thanks to an excellent performance from a bulked-up Bradley Cooper, this harrowing and intimate character study offers fairly blunt insights into the physical and psychological toll exacted on the front lines, yet strikes even its familiar notes with a sobering clarity that finds the 84-year-old filmmaker in very fine form." David Denby of The New Yorker gave the film a positive review, saying "Both a devastating war movie and a devastating antiwar movie, a subdued celebration of a warrior's skill and a sorrowful lament over his alienation and misery." Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a C+, saying "The film's just a repetition of context-free combat missions and one-dimensional targets." Elizabeth Weitzman of New York Daily News gave the film four out of five stars, saying "The best movies are ever-shifting, intelligent and open-hearted enough to expand alongside an audience. American Sniper, Clint Eastwood's harrowing meditation on war, is built on this foundation of uncommon compassion." Amy Nicholson of LA Weekly gave the film a C-, saying "Cautiously, Eastwood has chosen to omit Kyle's self-mythologizing altogether, which is itself a distortion of his character. We're not watching a biopic." Kyle Smith of the New York Post gave the film four out of five stars, saying "After 40 years of Hollywood counterpropaganda telling us war is necessarily corrupting and malign, its ablest practitioners thugs, loons or victims, American Sniper nobly presents the case for the other side."

Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film three and a half stars out of four, saying "Bradley Cooper, as Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, and director Eastwood salute Kyle's patriotism best by not denying its toll. Their targets are clearly in sight, and their aim is true." Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of The A.V. Club gave the film a B, saying "American Sniper is imperfect and at times a little corny, but also ambivalent and complicated in ways that are uniquely Eastwoodian." James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave the film three and a half stars out of four, saying "American Sniper lifts director Clint Eastwood out of the doldrums that have plagued his last few films." Rafer Guzman of Newsday gave the film three out of four stars, saying "Cooper nails the role of an American killing machine in Clint Eastwood's clear-eyed look at the Iraq War." Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times gave the film a positive review, saying "Eastwood's impeccably crafted action sequences so catch us up in the chaos of combat we are almost not aware that we're watching a film at all." Claudia Puig of USA Today gave the film three out of four stars, saying "It's clearly Cooper's show. Substantially bulked up and affecting a believable Texas drawl, Cooper embodies Kyle's confidence, intensity and vulnerability." Joshua Rothkopf of Time Out New York gave the film four out of five stars, saying "Just as only Nixon could go to China, only Clint Eastwood could make a movie about an Iraq War veteran and infuse it with doubts, mission anxiety and ruination." Inkoo Kang of The Wrap gave the film a negative review, saying "Director Clint Eastwood‘s focus on Kyle is so tight that no other character, including wife Taya (Sienna Miller), comes through as a person, and the scope so narrow that the film engages only superficially with the many moral issues surrounding the Iraq War."

Criticism

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination committee said that the release of the movie coincided with increased threats against Arabs and Muslims. It has also accused Eastwood of dishonestly linking the September 11 attacks with Iraq. John Wight, writing for Russia Today, strongly criticized the film and its reception to date lamenting its popularity over Selma. Matt Taibbi ctiticized Sniper for its portrayal of politics.

Accolades

See also

• List of films featuring the United States Navy SEALs

References

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External links

• Official website
• American Sniper at IMDb
• Template:AllRovi title
• American Sniper at Box Office Mojo
• Please use a more specific Metacritic template.
• American Sniper at Rotten Tomatoes

v t e Clint Eastwood
Early life Personal life Political life Filmography Bibliography Discography Accolades
Films directed	Play Misty for Me (1971) High Plains Drifter (1973) Breezy (1973) The Eiger Sanction (1975) The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) The Gauntlet (1977) Bronco Billy (1980) Firefox (1982) Honkytonk Man (1982) Sudden Impact (1983) Pale Rider (1985) Heartbreak Ridge (1986) Bird (1988) White Hunter Black Heart (1990) The Rookie (1990) Unforgiven (1992) A Perfect World (1993) The Bridges of Madison County (1995) Absolute Power (1997) Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997) True Crime (1999) Space Cowboys (2000) Blood Work (2002) Piano Blues (2003) Mystic River (2003) Million Dollar Baby (2004) Flags of Our Fathers (2006) Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) Changeling (2008) Gran Torino (2008) Invictus (2009) Hereafter (2010) J. Edgar (2011) Jersey Boys (2014) American Sniper (2014) Sully (2016) The 15:17 to Paris (2018) The Mule (2018) Richard Jewell (2019) Cry Macho (2021) Juror #2 (2024)
Related	Characters Man with No Name Harry Callahan "Go ahead, make my day" Malpaso Productions Eastwood at the 2012 RNC Eastwood After Hours: Live at Carnegie Hall "Bar Room Buddies" "Make My Day" (song) "Clint Eastwood" (song)
Family	Dina Ruiz (second wife) Kyle Eastwood (son) Alison Eastwood (daughter) Scott Eastwood (son) Francesca Eastwood (daughter) Sondra Locke (ex-partner)
Category

• 2014 films
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• Films about snipers
• Warner Bros. films
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• War in Afghanistan (2001–present) films