"Invincible," the movie based on the improbable rise of Eagles wide receiver/special teams player Vince Papale, debuted atop the movie listings for the weekend, raking in more than $17 million.

The Disney movie toppled "Snakes On A Plane." Papale, reached Sunday evening, was thrilled with the news.

"I'm getting emails flying all over -- producers of the movie, people from Disney, friends, people all around the country -- and everybody is ecstatic," said Papale. "It's way beyond everybody's expectations. As far as I'm concerned, it's not about the numbers. It's about everybody who shares in the story and who gets a little something out of it."

Clearly, the movie is a big-time hit. Papale said he's received word from friends in California, Boston, Atlanta, Atlanta and Gainesville, FL about the movie "and it's been selling out all over the country," he said. "It's not just Philadelphia. Everybody is cheering at the end. Everybody is feeling good about themselves.

"It's the most extraordinary experience you could possibly imagine."

Mark Wahlberg stars as Papale in 'Invincible'

Life has changed for Papale, the one-time school teacher from Delaware County who went for his dream and reached it: He made the Eagles and played for three seasons from 1976-78.

The movie premiered last Thursday in Philadelphia at the Prince Music Theater and has taken off.

It's No. 1!!!

"How has life changed for me? You can't believe it," he said. "I'm like a rock star. I walked into a place for breakfast and all of a sudden everybody's head snapped around and they started applauding. People are coming up to me and shaking my hand and saying how inspirational the movie was for them. There is a new generation of kids out there who never even knew who I was three weeks ago. Now I've got kids 25 and 30 years old walking up to me telling me how much they loved the movie.

"One girl told me how she cried at a couple of the scenes, especially the scene when I made the team. I can't tell you ... it's incredible. It's just blowing my mind right now.

"We're having a great time. We're all jacked. Maybe the word of mouth will help continue the momentum into next week."

If that's the case ... could it be?

A sequel???

"They made a Rocky 6, why not an Invincible 2," Papale said, laughing.