The film about Baton Rouge’s Barry Seal debuted in the No. 2 spot at the box office.
“American Made,” Tom Cruise’s very much embellished crime drama based on Baton Rouge drug-smuggler-turned-federal-informant Barry Seal, was barely edged by the surprisingly durable horror-thriller “It” for the box office crown this past weekend, but it’s got no reason to be ashamed. Its estimated $17 million haul was above analysts’ expectations and, coming in just $300,000 behind “It,” ended up tying “American Made” with holdover “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” for the No. 2 spot.
More importantly for Tom Cruise, who this past summer starred in the box-office flop “The Mummy,” audiences and critics alike seemed genuinely to like “American Made.” It currently boasts an 87 percent approval rating on movie review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes and a B+ rating on the audience-driven CinemaScore.
Whether it can hang onto that momentum this coming weekend, which brings the much-anticipated sci-fi sequel “Blade Runner 2049,” remains to be seen. In the meantime, here are 10 cool things to know about director Doug Liman’s “American Made,” which is now playing in theaters nationwide.
