Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan just dropped a bomb at the box office, and Sinners is the talk of the town.
The vampire thriller pulled in a solid $45.6 million in its opening weekend, beating out A Minecraft Movie and proving that original films can still crush it. That’s the strongest debut for an original R-rated film since Us in 2019. Despite its $90 million production cost, Sinners box office performance is off to a fiery start.
Released by Warner Bros., Sinners stars Jordan as twin brothers Smoke and Stack in a 1930s-set horror tale involving a Southern juke joint and a vampire invasion. Audiences are loving it – the film earned an “A” CinemaScore, a rare feat for a horror flick. And with a 98% score on Rotten Tomatoes, critics are all-in too.
Even though Minecraft was expected to keep its top spot, it slid to second with $41.3 million. That doesn’t hurt much though – it’s already made over $720 million globally. But for Sinners, this weekend was about proving that Coogler and Jordan’s star power can draw crowds even without a franchise tag.
The film dominated in premium formats – 45% of tickets came from Dolby, 4DX, and IMAX, with IMAX alone making up 20%. That’s a huge win for the large-screen experience. Imax CEO Rich Gelfond called it a “magnificently shot film,” and the studio even made a rare deal allowing Coogler to own the film rights after 25 years – that’s Spielberg-level respect.
Demographics show the film had wide appeal: 40% of the audience was Black, 35% white, 18% Hispanic, and 5% Asian. That kind of diverse turnout is gold for studios hoping to build momentum through word of mouth.
Elsewhere in the top five, The King of Kings held strong at No. 3 with $17 million, while The Amateur and Warfare rounded out the list with $6.8M and $4.8M respectively. The Wedding Banquet flopped in its debut, pulling just under $1 million.
So yeah, Sinners box office performance may not be a guaranteed profit yet, but the hype, reviews, and premium ticket boost give it strong legs. If word of mouth keeps spreading, it could be the sleeper hit of the year.
Excited about Sinners or still team Minecraft?
