NEW FILMS DON’T STAND A CHANCE AGAINST “AMERICAN SNIPER,” PUNDITS SAY

American Sniper is expected to earn this weekend what analysts predicted it would earn last weeekend — around $45-50 million. Instead, it raked in twice that amount over the three-day weekend — $89 million — and $107 million for the four-day Martin Luther King holiday. The only significant challenge to Sniper is expected to come from The Boy Next Door, starring Jennifer Lopez, which could earn $15-20 million, according to box-office forecasters. But Mortdecai, starring Johnny Depp is expected to bomb with less than $7 million, the analysts say, and the animated Strange Magic will likely do about the same.

Box Office Mojo: Forecast: ‘Sniper’ to Easily Fight Off Weak Competition This WeekendLos Angeles Times: ‘American Sniper’ expected to hold down No. 1 spot at box office