Newcomers 'Project Almanac' and 'Black or White' have quiet openings over the football-focused weekend. 
 
 Clint Eastwood's American Sniper earned a stellar $30.7 million over Super Bowl weekend, according to Monday's final numbers. While it's a strong gross for the war drama's third weekend out, it means the film just barely missed the record for the biggest Super Bowl weekend gross of all time. 
 
 That title is held by 2008's Hanna Montana/Miley Cyrus: The Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour, which earned $31.1 million over big game weekend. However, American Sniper did unseat 2010's Dear John ($30.5 million) for the second biggest Super Bowl weekend tally. 
 
 Last weekend, the Oscar-nominated Sniper became the biggest war-themed film of all time, eclipsing the $216.5 million earned by Saving Private Ryan, not accounting for inflation. The film's new domestic tally is a stunning $247.98 million. 
 
 The Bradley Cooper-starring war drama , easily beat out three new films braving a launch despite the NFL championship game: Project Almanac, Black or White and The Loft. 
 
 Theater attendance takes a big hit on Super Bowl Sunday, so it's no surprise that no high-profile titles opened this weekend. Indeed, both Project Almanac and The Loft open after long delays. 
 
 It looks like all three newcomers will fall below holdover Paddington. The family film, now in its third week, earned an estimated $8.5 million, and while Project Almanac, a found-footage thriller produced by Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes, is also estimated to have earned $8.5 million, it's likely that Paddington will come out on top for the No. 2 spot when the dust settles and the final numbers come in Monday. 
 
 Project Almanac, earning a B CinemaScore, follows a brilliant high school student and his friends as they uncover blueprints for a mysterious device that allows them to time travel. Jonny Weston, Sofia Black-D’Elia, Sam Lerner, Allen Evangelista and Virginia Gardner star. It was originally set to open a year ago, but Bay wanted to tinker with the movie. 
 
 Black or White, filmmaker Mike Binder's racially charged drama starring Kevin Costner and Octavia Spencer, took the No. 4 spot with a tally of $6.5 million for its domestic debut. The film, which received an A- CinemaScore, hoped to serve as counterprogramming for adults, opening in 1,823 locations this weekend. An estimated 78 percent of its opening weekend audience was over 25 years old. 
 
 Relativity acquired U.S. rights to Black or White after its world premiere at the 2014 Toronto Film Festival and is releasing the film in association with IM Global and Sunlight Productions. 
 
 When no studio would make the $9 million film, Costner invested some of his own money in Black or White, which chronicles a bitter custody fight that ensues when a child's African-American grandmother (Spencer) insists that the child be raised by her son, the girl's father, and not by Costner's character, her maternal grandfather. 
 
 Universal holdover The Boy Next Door took No. 5 in its second outing with an estimated $6.1 million or more from 2,615 locations. 
 
 The Loft, director Erik Van Looy's English-language remake of his 2008 Dutch film, quickly fell flat this weekend, coming in at No. 10 with a soft $2.9 million. From Dark Castle Entertainment, the thriller was originally supposed to be distributed by Warner Bros. per its deal with Joel Silver's Dark Castle, but it moved to Universal when Silver pacted with that studio. 
 
 However, Open Road films subsequently announced it would release The Loft after Universal pulled the movie from its August 2014 release. The $14 million title, about a group of men who share a loft used for illicit affairs, stars James Marsden and Karl Urban, while Matthias Schoenaerts reprises his role from the original film. 
 
 Note: Updated Monday morning with official box office grosses. ||||| Excellent perspective from one who served. Seldom do I condemn other reviewers in their stance, but this is the rare exception. To all those who thought or think this is American propaganda, then you either did not read the book, your mind was made up before you started or you have not read any other memoirs from any other conflicts in the world. 
 
 
 
 This is the insight of a man who was on the ground and answered the call of his country and performed to exemplary levels of honor, bravery and comradeship. You will find the same type of writing in “Last Dead Hero”- Robert Lamon, “Blood Red Snow”- Gunther K. Koschorrek, “The Forgotten Soldier” Guy Sajer “Patton” Ladislas Farago and a host of others. These men fought for their country and sought to defeat and destroy the enemy. Plain and simple, waris about killing people to win. It’s not a walk in the park and handled through diplomacy where everyone holds hands and smiles. War is ugly, destructive and dehumanizing. Ask the Russians how many they lost during World War Two. Ask the British if they had, as Neville Chamberlain proclaimed, “Peace in our time.” You win by killing your enemy! 
 
 Chris gives the reader a frontline look at how the battle in Iraq was fought. Does he come across as inhumane? Perhaps. But as a sniper, his job isn’t to sit back and observe, it’s to protect his fellow soldiers in harms way. And he does this by killing the enemy. 
 
 I have talked, not interviewed, many men who served in WWII, Korea, Vietnam and Iraq/Afghanistan. The common thread all of these men and women hold is, they are fighting for the man/woman by their side. Politics and grand strategies are the farthest thing from their minds. Protecting their fellow soldiers is front and foremost. 
 
 His insight to his commanders is a common theme you’ll find in most biographies-incompetent. His description of one of these, “0% casualties, 100% effectiveness.” galled him. How do you go out in the field to ambush or become a target for your foe and not expect to incur casualties? I’m sure those were the words Eisenhower, Bradley, Montgomery, Patton, Truscott, Roosevelt, King, Schwarzkof and Franks told their men as they were going into the frey. No! 
 
 The other side of this tribute is his family life. Was it all rose gardens and happy-go-lucky? Far from it. His wife Taya had her own battles to fight. She was responsible for raising their two children while he was off fighting. Her insights to their fiery, troubled relationship are well timed and placed through this work. She does not hold back how much she despises the military but also understands that her husband is bound and determined to keep the bad guys from coming to the states and making sure he does everything in his ability to make that happen. For her, it is a Catch-22. She loves her husband and is proud of his service, but sooner or later, he’s going to have to make family number two on the list. When Chris realizes that he’s not immortal during his last deployment and reenlistment is coming up, he will have to decide if he wants to continue his service which could result in him losing his family. He chooses the later. This alone is an excellent testament of two people not taking the easy road. They overcame their differences and remembered why they fell in love in the first place. 
 
 
 
 I recommend this warrior’s story to anyone who wants a glimpse into the day to day life of a man who is dedicated to his God, Country and Family. 
 
 
 
 Five Stars
– 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.