The movie “American Sniper,” based off of the late Chris Kyle’s book, is absolutely shattering box office records for January. The film was in limited release, starting on Christmas Day, in order to make it eligible for the Academy Awards this February. It’s been nominated for 6 awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor (Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle).

Standing in line that stretched out of the theater to watch #AmericanSniper. Good thing the weather is good tonight pic.twitter.com/UMlwjEBB0f

— Raj (@ramblingdr) January 18, 2015

The line for a FOUR OCLOCK showing of American Sniper pic.twitter.com/CFhm7485ih

— Tony Geist (@TonyGeist) January 17, 2015

Line to see #AmericanSniper! Every show sold out! pic.twitter.com/f2her2WXCH

— Jaime Lynn Adams (@JaimeLynnAdams) January 18, 2015

The movie has the biggest opening of any Clint Eastwood movie ever.

Warner Bros. estimates that American Sniper will make $105 million over the four-day Martin Luther King weekend, which would be another record.

“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).

Predictably, the so-called “tolerant” Hollywood left and other liberals are upset.

My uncle killed by sniper in WW2. We were taught snipers were cowards. Will shoot u in the back. Snipers aren't heroes. And invaders r worse

— Michael Moore (@MMFlint) January 18, 2015

American Sniper kind of reminds me of the movie that's showing in the third act of Inglorious Basterds.

— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) January 18, 2015

.@publictransprt You said you wanted the German translation of American Sniper? Here you go: https://t.co/N1xrsk8KpI

— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) January 18, 2015

https://twitter.com/stopbeingfamous/status/556867107565350912
Some Hollywood types are just reduced to utter stupidity.

The wedding ringer is way funnier than American sniper . Kev hart funnier than ever. http://t.co/hRm2P6oPFy

— Chris Rock (@chrisrock) January 18, 2015

Box office records and major awards? Sounds like several people have hurt feelings. Or other hurting parts of their anatomy.

As to the appeal of “American Sniper”? Jake Tapper, who recently interviewed Bradley Cooper and Taya Kyle, had this great piece of insight.

One of great things about @AmericanSniper doing so well is that it helps explain difficulties of troops/vets readjusting, bridges chasm

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) January 18, 2015

As the sister and sister-in-law of Iraq combat veterans, I know a little bit about the transition that soldiers have to make as they come back to civilian life. But I don’t live with it every day, and I am certainly not privy to what goes through the heads of these men and women as they come out of combat zones and back to their families. If a movie like “American Sniper” can give Americans a glimpse, though Chris Kyle’s story, of what our veterans have been through and continue to go through, then it won’t matter what awards it wins. Its true value will be in how it changes the perception of the American public towards our veterans from now on.

And that, more than money or awards, would be a legacy that Chris Kyle would be proud of.