Warner Bros. and writer-director Ryan Coogler's vampire drama, Sinners, has taken the lead at the Easter weekend box office with an estimated $45.6 million debut, claiming the domestic BO No. 1 spot from video game adaptation, A Minecraft Movie.
This marks the biggest domestic opening for an original film (not based on an existing IP) this decade.
The critically-acclaimed horror flick also took in $15 million from overseas markets, for a global total of $61 million. With a reported production budget of $90 million, the movie will need to pass the $200 million milestone to turn a profit.
This shouldn't prove too difficult as long as audiences keep turning up, and positive word of mouth is sure to play a part. Sinners releases on the back of an excellent marketing campaign and overwhelmingly positive reviews (98% on Rotten Tomatoes), with an A CinemaScore.
“I just want people to have a good time at the movies," said Coogler in a recent interview with NME. "For me, that supersedes everything, and that desire is what enabled me to be bold. I feel like we’ve developed a relationship with global film-going audiences and we’re relatively young to have done that. And so I think it’s kind of incumbent on us to be bold and use that position to show more of ourselves completely. I think the film is very much us: it could only have been made by this particular group, this chosen family, that have made movies together. At this point I think we have to give people a unique, visceral experience when they go to the [movie] theatre.”
Coogler is expected to return to Marvel Studios to helm Black Panther 3, but nothing has been officially announced.
Have you been to see Sinners? If so, what did you think? Let us know in the comments section.
Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers (Jordan) return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.
“You keep dancing with the devil, one day he’s gonna follow you home.”
Written and directed by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Coogler, Sinners stars Jordan (the Black Panther and Creed franchises) in a dual role, joined by Oscar nominee Hailee Steinfeld (Bumblebee, True Grit), Jack O’Connell (Ferrari), Wunmi Mosaku (Passenger), Jayme Lawson (The Woman King), Omar Miller (True Lies), Miles Caton, and Delroy Lindo (Da 5 Bloods).
The film is produced by Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian and Ryan Coogler. The executive producers are Ludwig Göransson, Will Greenfield and Rebecca Cho.
Warner Bros will release Coogler's Sinners in US theaters nationwide starting April 18th, 2025.