Since it's apparently American Sniper week at the ole Editor's Blog, allow me to offer an explanation for the surprising success of American Sniper at the box office last weekend. 
In a triptych of tweets last night, Ross Douthat succinctly explained the controversies swirling around best picture nominees Selma and American Sniper: 
The popularity of Clint Eastwood's new drama 'American Sniper' has boosted the sales of pro-military clothing. A number of pro-military retailers said they had seen a noticeable spike in sales since the movie premiered across the country last weekend. One retailer had even seen his orders more than double. 
The Hollywood Reporter has a fantastic look at the astounding success of the Clint Eastwood hit film, American Sniper. The analysis provides incredible insight into how this film shocked the industry to break box office records last week. 
Noah Berlatsky thinks it's quite unfair that people are piling on noted dope Dennis C. Jett for writing an essay about a trailer for a film and suggesting in that essay that the film makes an argument it doesn't. Here's Berlatsky: 
Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer criticized Michael Moore for Twitter comments he made Sunday. Dennis C. Jett is a professor of international affairs at Penn State, a university best known for covering up the rape of small children so as to not bring shame to its football program. Before accepting the role of professor at the notorious school, he was an ambassador to noted powerhouse American allies Peru and Mozambique, plum gigs he received after almost three decades in the foreign service. In his spare time, he writes essays about movies that he has not seen for Poke Button Pioneer Chris Hughes' New Republic. These essays are then used to denigrate the film he hasn't seen and hurt their Oscar chances.
Update: Wow:
Early morning estimates are showing that Warner Bros./Village Roadshow’s American Sniper is set to post a FSS of $90.2M with a cume to date of $93.6M. By tomorrow with the MLK holiday, its cume is looking to raise to $105.2M.These are Marvel tentpole numbers. For a R-rated, adult-focused drama. I think it's safe to say that American Sniper might (might! There's a long way to go) end up being the most surprising $300-million-grossing film since ... Passion of the Christ. Huh. [Original post below.] Clint Eastwood's new biopic about Chris Kyle, the deadliest sniper in American history, is a monster at the box office:
I think this standard, laid out by Scott Tobias, is a pretty reasonable one: 
New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick cancelled practice on New Year’s Eve and instead took his team to the movies, the Blaze reports. 