Summary
Whether it’s at the box office or in reviews, news concerning Ryan Coogler’sSinnersseems to get better with each passing day. This time, the movie is set to re-answer the IMAX call.
Set in the 1930s American South,Sinnersis a vampirehorror-thriller that follows the twin brothers Smoke and Stack (both played by Michael B. Jordan) as they return home to open a juke joint, only for their community to be plunged into chaos by a sudden vampire outbreak.Sinnersopened with $45.6 million domesticallyand $15.6 million from 71 overseas markets, ousting fellow Warner Bros. titleA Minecraft Movieas the top dog in the U.S. The film is also second to Jordan Peele’sNope($44.4 million) in terms of the strongest domestic debuts for an original horror film, although the director still holds the ultimate record withUS($70.3 million).
Sinners Will Be Re-Released on IMAX 70mm
The Overwhelming Power of Word-of-Mouth + Quality Is At Play
As theaters worldwide prep for the arrival ofThunderbolts*on May 2, Exhibitors initially setSinnersto permanently wrap things up on IMAX screens across North America a day earlier (May 1). However, it seems such withdrawal will only be temporary, courtesy of overwhelming demand. As reported byVariety,anyone in the United States and Canada who missed out on the 70 mm glory ofSinnerson IMAX will have a second chance from May 15 to May 21. The nine select venues include: Lincoln Square 13 + IMAX in New York City, City Walk Stadium 19 + IMAX in Los Angeles, Metreon 16 + IMAX in San Francisco, Arizona Mills IMAX in Phoenix, Irvine Spectrum and IMAX in Irvine, Webb Chapel IMAX in Dallas, Indiana State Museum in Indianapolis, Autonation IMAX in Ft. Lauderdale, and Colossus IMAX in Toronto. Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros. Pictures' President of Global Distribution, noted thatSinnerscaptivated audiences so much that the studio wanted to “give everyone the opportunity to see it (again) in 70mm IMAX."
Sinners’IMAX re-release shouldn’t be downplayed as a small development. Aside from it andOppenheimer, few movies in recent history have had such a colossal demand for the higher-resolution quality of IMAX 70mm that it necessitated an immediate return to theaters.Top Gun: Maverickis an inappropriate examplebecause an IMAX release only happened years after the original release.
Anyone exaggerating the impact of this re-release onSinners’ box office run needs only remember that it’s just a nine-theater affair as opposed to a nationwide phenomenon. Regardless, it is a symbolic voice to the incredible legs and staying power of the film, a product of when good word-of-mouth meets quality and star power (Coogler + Michael B. Jordan is already up there as one of the cinematic matches made in heaven”).
After grossing $6 million on Day 13 (Wednesday) of its theatrical run,Sinners’domestic cume as of this writing stands at $141.6 million, overtakingA Quiet Place: Day OneandFive Nights At Freddy’sas the third highest-grossing post-pandemic horror in the U.S. That $6 million figure also marks the biggest second-Wednesday ever for a horror film, beatingIT’s $4 million in 2019 and even surpassingOppenheimer’s $5.9 million. OnlyDeadpool & Wolverine(2024) performed better on a second Wednesday among R-rated titles, with $9.9 million. So, with or without an IMAX re-release,Sinnersis destined for at least a $230 million domestic finish.
