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Does this weekend's mammoth opening tip the Oscar scales in its direction? Story by Matt Cummings Although the Clint Eastwood war drama American Sniper was poised to make a splash at this year's Oscars, there was no guarantee that it would become a sure-fire financial success. Films like The Imitation Game ($51m) and The Theory of Everything ($27m) featured excellent performances from Benedict Cumberbatch and Eddie Redmayne respectively, but neither has brought in the big bucks, a common feature for most Oscar nominees. But that all changed over the four-day weekend for Sniper , when it took home a stunning $89m in only its first weekend. Add in the Monday numbers and it surpassed $107m - the largest opening ever for a January film in wide release. Who could have saw that coming? Some have claimed its success was willing was based on what few films today will do: show less of itself in the trailers. Look at any film today, and you'll see most of it play

Bob Gunton is a character actor with 125 credits to his name, including several seasons of " 24 " and " Desperate Housewives " and a host of movie roles in films such as the Oscar-winning " Argo ." Vaguely familiar faces like his are common in the Los Angeles area where he lives, and nobody pays much attention. Many of his roles have been forgotten. But every day, the 68-year-old actor says, he hears the whispers—from cabdrivers, waiters, the new bag boy at his neighborhood supermarket: "That's the warden in 'Shawshank.' " He also still gets residual payments—not huge, but steady, close to six figures by the film's 10th anniversary in 2004. Since then, he has continued to get "a very substantial income" long past the age when residuals usually dry up. "I suspect my daughter, years from now, will still be getting checks," he said. " Shawshank " was an underwhelming box-office performer when i

Mondo unveils a new poster series centered around a trio of films from Ben Affleck . Collaborating with a variety of artists, Mondo has produced three moody pieces of artwork to capture Affleck's impressive directorial accomplishments for ARGO, GONE BABY GONE and THE TOWN . "I've always loved Mondo and their passion for film, as well as their talented stable of artists. I was initially drawn by their ability to offer a unique perspective on so many beloved films and am thrilled to see my films become the newest additions to their work," said Affleck . Please see below for details on each of the posters and a link to download images of the prints. The poster series will be released on Monday, December 9. For the exact sale time please follow @MondoNews on Twitter.  $70 variant $45 regular THE TOWN Artist: Daniel Danger Size: 24 x 36 Edition Size: 390 regular, 160 variant Price: $45 regular, $70 variant ARGO Artist: Matthew Woodson Siz