Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, as reported on Rotten Tomatoes, earned $48 M in its opening weekend, tagging on another $7.8 M this Monday, bringing it to $55.8 M domestically and $75.5M worldwide, according to Deadline.
This strong debut puts the film among the biggest debuts of an original film post-pandemic. With a strong offense, fans are quickly coming to defend Coogler’s horror, claiming the media is biased in reporting the numbers.
Amongst the defenders is actor Ben Stiller, who took to Twitter to call out media outlets. Responding to a recent Variety article that discusses Sinners’ box office results: “It’s a great result for an original, R-rated horror film…yet the Warner Bros. release has an eye-popping $90 million price tag before global marketing expenses, so profitability remains a ways away.”
Stiller responded, “In what universe does a 60 million dollar opening for an original studio movie warrant this headline?”
Another user responded to Stiller’s tweet, claiming critics “were setting this up early before the movie even opened. Complaining how the $90 million budget had set them up to fail.”
Variety isn’t the only outlet with backlash on their reporting. Another on Twitter pointed out that The New York Times used language that sounded dismissive of Coogler as a black director and black audiences. The article, similar to Vairety’s, also pointed out that the film had yet to break even.
Sinners stars Michael B. Jordan as a set of twins eager to open their own jupe joint in 1930s Mississippi. The R-rated vampire thriller earned an A CinemaScore, the first for a horror film. Additionally, Director Coogler made headlines after it was reported that he will own the rights to his movie in 25 years.
The film also stars Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Jack O’Connell, and Wunmi Mosaku.
Sinners is now showing in theaters.
Sources: Variety, Deadline, and The New York Times.
Update Courtesy of Sara Ciplickas
Feature Image Credit to Warner Bros. via IMDb