The 2015 Academy Award nominees were announced this past Thursday and that set the perfect stage for the opening of American Sniper. The film, starring Bradley Cooper as real-life military vet Chris Kyle, rode its Oscar nominations all the way to a record-breaking opening weekend.

Estimates of its box office sales are currently around $90.2 million but the end of Monday will have reportedly reached a projected $105.2 million. The first figure gives the film the biggest January opening in history, overcoming the previous record-holder, the James Cameron directed blockbuster, Avatar, which made $68 million its opening weekend. American Sniper is directed by Clint Eastwood and this is his biggest opening ever considering his 2008 film, Gran Torino, opened with an estimated $29.5 million.

The Oscar nominations for American Sniper include Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, a Best Actor Nomination for Bradley Cooper, and two more technical nominations for a total of six. This is the third nomination for Bradley Cooper who was previously nominated as lead actor in Silver Linings Playbook in 2012 and for his supporting actor role in American Hustle in 2013. Clint Eastwood is also no stranger to the awards as this is his 11th Oscar nomination, having previously won the award for his directing Unforgiven in 1992 and Million Dollar Baby in 2004.

The film is based on the life and memoir of Navy sharpshooter Chris Kyle and takes place over the course of 8 years during the Iraq War, where he served four tours. Kyle, who was nicknamed “Legend” by his fellow Navy SEALs, was reported to have racked up 160 confirmed kills (Kyle claimed that number was more like 255) which makes him the most lethal sniper in United States history. He was married to Taya Kyle, portrayed by actress Sienna Miller in Eastwood’s film, and had two children.

After leaving the Navy, Chris Kyle dedicated his time to soldiers suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It was this volunteer work that cost him his life. Chris Kyle was gunned down at a shooting range in Chalk Mountain, Texas on February 2nd, 2013 by a former Marine allegedly suffering from PTSD. He had previously survived six IED attacks, was wounded twice, and even made it home despite living under the constant threat of a bounty on his head, contracted by Iraqi insurgents. Before his death, Kyle had received several commendations for his military service including two Silver Stars, five Bronze Stars, a Navy and Marine Corps Commendation medal, and more.

A film about a very recent and very controversial time in American wartime history, American Sniper has already divided Hollywood. Seth Rogen took to Twitter comparing the film to the fictional Nazi propaganda film in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds while in a surprise endorsement, Jane Fonda who is often labeled liberal, called the film “powerful” and “sensational.” Political lightning rod Michael Moore, on the other hand, took to Twitter to say he was taught “snipers are cowards,” and “aren’t heroes.”

However, having already doubled the box office numbers it was expected to do, it seems the theater-going public has spoken when it comes to American Sniper.