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‘Sinners’ Remains No. 1 at Weekend Box Office, Bringing in $45 Million

Ryan Coogler’s vampire epic holds strong at the box office. 

By Precious Fondren
Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

Ryan Coogler’s latest, Sinners, is a bona fide hit, surpassing the expectations of some.

The Michael B. Jordan-backed film made an impressive $45 million in its second weekend at the box office, according to the Associated Press, only down a few million from its $48 million opening, one of the smallest drops a movie has ever seen after its debut. This brings its total earnings so far to nearly $162 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.

If it feels like there’s been extra attention on the film’s box office numbers, you’re not imagining it. Variety spark a wave of debate on social media around the publication’s perceived biased coverage of the film’s opening weekend earnings. It brought in $60 million worldwide that weekend, yet Variety questioned whether Sinners would be able to turn a profit to make back its $90 million budget. 

“It’s a great result for an original, R-rated horror film that takes place in the 1930s," reporter Rebecca Rubin wrote in the piece, ”yet the Warner Bros. release has an eye-popping $90 million price tag before global marketing expenses, so profitability remains a ways away. The New York Times published a similar article casting doubt of the film’s financial future. 

Critics of the Variety piece include Ben Stiller, who wrote on X, “In what universe does a $60 million opening for an original studio movie warrant this headline?” 

 

“White Lotus” star Patrick Schwarzenegger also responded to Variety’s post, saying, “It’s opening weekend….” 

There’s also been a lot of conversation around a seemingly out of the norm deal Coogler struck with Warner Bros. to make “Sinners.” According the NYTimes, Warner Bros. said they’d give Coogler a share of the “gross ticket sales” and revert the rights of the movie back to him after 25 years. 

While the former concession is pretty normal in Hollywood, industry insiders across entertainment have emphasized how rare the latter concession is, with the NYTimes writing, “This type of concession is even rarer for studios to make. Some rival film companies were horrified that Warner Bros. would give a film away, even after a period of time.”

Coogler seemed baffled by the reaction to his deal in an interview with Democracy Now, saying he’s not the first filmmaker to get this kind of deal. 

“I think a lot has been of my deal in particular,” he said. “I’m not totally sure why. I have my guesses, but I’ve been in the industry long enough to know what kind of deals are possible and nothing about this deal is a new thing.”