Michael Moore, Seth Rogen catch heat for 'American Sniper,' Chris Kyle comments

The movie ''American Sniper'' topped the weekend box office, raking in more than $100 million in its first few days of nationwide release.

Movie-goers have been raving -- but a couple of men in Hollywood have been less than effusive in their praise.

Americans are packing into theaters to see "American Sniper" - the real life story of the man known as America's deadliest sniper, Navy SEAL Chris Kyle - played by actor Bradley Cooper. The film broke box office records this debut weekend, earning $105 million in weekend ticket sales and six Academy Award nominations

Not so excellent, however, - in the minds of some in Hollywood. Actor Seth Rogen - tweeted "American Sniper kind of reminds me of the movie that's showing in the third act of Inglorious Basterds."

And filmmaker Michael Moore - igniting a firestorm, tweeted, "My uncle killed by sniper in WW2. We were taught snipers were cowards. Will shoot u in the back. Snipers aren't heroes. And invaders r worse." Then five hours later - "But if you're on the roof of your home defending it from invaders who've come 7k miles, you are not a sniper, u are brave, u are a neighbor."

Read Michael Moore's lengthy Facebook post on "American Sniper"

Moore's comment about cowards definitely got some pushback.

"For someone who has spent their entire career on freedom of speech, and freedom of expression, to be criticizing an individual like Chris Kyle, who exemplifies the very best, well that's really biting the hand that feeds you," said Cade Courtley, former Navy SEAL.

Whether Moore was actually talking about the film "American Sniper" is now sort of a gray area- tweeting, "Hmm. I never tweeted 1word bout AmericanSniper/ChrisKyle. I said my uncle killed by sniper in WWII; only cowards would do that 2 him, others." He goes on to say, "So ppl want me 2tweet something bout american sniper? great acting! powerful message. sad ending. there."

'American Sniper' astounds with $105.3M over MLK weekend

Clint Eastwood's R-rated Iraq War drama opened in January like a superhero movie in July, taking in a record $105.3 million over the Martin Luther King Jr. four-day weekend.

The film's success obliterated forecasts and set numerous box-office records. It easily surpassed "Avatar" to become the biggest January weekend ever.

This was actually the third week of release for "American Sniper," which played in just a handful of theaters for two weeks. That release helped stoke demand for the film.

The resounding wide-release opening is also tops for the 84-year-old Eastwood. And it, in one weekend, gives the Oscar best-picture race something it was lacking: a big box-office hit.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.