Sinners is the recently released horror film from acclaimed director Ryan Coogler. In its opening weekend, Sinners grossed 48 million dollars off of a 90 million dollar budget. While this may not be an eye-popping number compared to the blockbusters of recent memories, Sinners’ success is not only impressive, but an extremely important feat.  

With the top 50 grossing movies of all time consisting exclusively of films which are part of a pre-existing franchise, it’s clear that producing movies which already have a recognizable IP behind them is the popular, and safe, choice for big studios, as it yields the greatest chance for success. As an original R-rated horror film taking place in Jim-Crow era south, Sinners stands in stark contrast to this trend. 

Sinners follows the story of twin brothers Smoke and Stack, who are both played by Michael B. Jordan, as they return to their home town in Mississippi to open a juke joint. However on opening night, they are met with an evil, supernatural force. The film blends multiple genres such as drama, horror, romance, and even musical elements.

Thanks to exceptional reviews, a strong performance from Michael B. Jordan, and good word of mouth, Sinners was able to take the number one spot in the box office on Easter weekend. The film is projected to remain in the number one spot in the following weeks as well, even beating out Ben Affleck’s new movie, The Accountant 2, which falls in line with the aforementioned safe trend of sequels Hollywood has been following for years.

Coogler, who has also directed the extremely successful Black Panther series, went to social media to thank audience members who saw the movie. “To see your response to the film has reinvigorated me and many others who believe in this art form,” says Coogler. “I want to thank you all who watched more than once, who recommended the film to others, both in person and on social media or on your text message chains.”

Sinners was filmed with both IMAX and standard cameras, with the film switching between a wider and narrower aspect ratio depending on the importance of the scene. This is an extremely unique filmmaking technique, with Sinners being the first movie to try this using IMAX cameras. This helps give the movie a sense of grandeur as well as incentivizing audience members to experience the film in theaters, as the IMAX aspect ratio will not be available when the film comes to home media.   

It’s safe to say that the risk paid off for Warren Brothers. With a critic score of 98% on Rotten Tomatoes coupled with an audience score of 97%, it’s clear that Sinners will remain universally beloved for years to come. Hopefully with the film’s success critically and financially, big studios will reevaluate their strategy and give audiences what they really want: original, important, innovative films meant to be seen on the big screen.