Lone Survivor, the film adaption of former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell’s bestselling book of the same name, had a historical weekend at the box office.
“If you haven't seen Lone Survivor, you need to,” Glenn said on radio this morning. “Second biggest opening in January of any movie. They were surprised by it… They thought it was going to be $14 million. It was $38 million. This thing is going to make well over $100 million and then some.”
Lone Survivor finished the weekend as the number one movie in America bringing in $38.5 million. It bested Disney’s Frozen, which came in at number two, earning $15 million in its eighth weekend, and Paramount’s The Wolf of Wall Street earning $9 million in its third weekend. The opening weekend marked the second biggest January opening ever after the $40.1 million debut of 2008′s Cloverfield.
One Texas town had such an overwhelming response to the film, the Grand Theater in Conroe, Texas cancelled showings of several box office hits to accommodate massive demand for Lone Survivor. Cancelled movies at the 14-screen multiplex included blockbusters like Wolf of Wall Street and Anchorman 2 among multiple other films.
“As you will see, the most honorable thing a friend can do for his brothers, Marcus Luttrell has done and told this story and made it appropriate for their death. And you will be amazed at the honor of these men. Truly amazed and humbled,” Glenn concluded. “If you don't walk out of there going, ‘What am I doing with my life?’ ‘What is important to me?’ If you don't walk out of that movie theater feeling that, I don't know, you need to watch it again or check yourself into a hospital to see if you have a heart or a soul.”