'Lone Survivor' Movie Tops Box Office

The Navy SEAL drama "Lone Survivor" topped the box office this weekend.

The movie earned $38.5 million domestically, exceeding wide release weekend expectations, according to Universal Studios estimates.  That makes it the second biggest box office opening for the month of January.

"This is a movie that emotionally and caustically challenges us to think about the virtues of self-sacrificial brotherhood, service to country, honor and bravery," Plugged In Online film critic Bob Hoose writes. "It lauds the ability of some to drive themselves to near-impossible levels of physical and mental toughness."

"And it shakes its cinematic head in awe over how men can willingly put themselves in harm's way to fight for freedom and justice, sometimes even when that freedom and justice is meant for foreigners they have no personal connection to," he added. 
 
The film, directed by "Friday Night Lights" and "Battleship" filmmaker Peter Berg, is based on Marcus Luttrell's memoir about a Navy SEAL mission in Afghanistan in 2005.