I spend a lot of time bitching on here. Complaining about the state of the industry, the algorithmic slop from streaming services and how no one knows how to behave in a movie theater anymore. I’d like to think I’m not an asshole, but I’m not doing a great job proving that here. So without further ado, I’m going to be positive for an entire post, which is actually pretty easy for me to do this week because … SINNERS.
The new Ryan Coogler-Michael B. Jordan vampire/musical epic (that’s an insane description, but it’s true) is my favorite new movie of the year and a jolt of adrenaline and inspiration that’s been lacking so far this year.
Before Sinners, the most recent new movies I checked out were Warfare, Drop, A Minecraft Movie, Snow White and Death of a Unicorn, which range from decent all the way down to abomination—I’ll let you guess which is which—and even the best of these, Warfare, is a down-the-middle war saga, which sometimes feels more like a camera test than a full-throated film.
Sinners, on the other hand, is overflowing with ideas from its prologue, setting the stage, to its wide-spanning propulsive storytelling that jumps through time and follows various characters on their quests. It certainly is inspired by other works—From Dusk Till Dawn, horror B-movies and Steve McQueen’s 2020 Lovers Rock—and yet it’s wholly original, creating an entire world chock-full of compelling characters that are both archetypes and their own thing.
Sorry to be exactly who I am for a second, but there’s a podcast I love called Blank Check, which dives deep into directors’ filmographies, identifying the artists “who had significant success early in their careers and were then offered a figurative blank check to pursue their passion projects.”
As great as Coogler’s highs before this were, from Creed to Black Panther, there’s no question that this is his first real Blank Check movie, as it’s his first work in a while to shift away from the IP/Marvel world and create something new from whole cloth. Despite the Warner Bros. Discovery backing, you can tell that there isn’t much studio interference here, as evidenced by how thrilling, salacious and (frankly) bizarre the story gets.
It makes sense then that “Coogler requested and received a rare stake in his studio-produced film, securing from Warner Bros. first-dollar gross points, final cut and ownership of the film in 25 years.” With studios dropping movies, hiding them on their streaming services or meddling with their intellectual property over time, it’s pretty damn cool that the rights for something this groundbreaking will be owned by the director and not a conglomeration. Vulture recently published a deep dive into executives fretting that this “could end the studio system,” and my response to that is: Good.
Studios have been training audiences to accept garbage, so it’s nice to see people show out for something sprawling and well-made with big ideas that also feels like a capital-B Blockbuster.
According to a post from The Gamer on Thursday, as of yesterday, “Sinners had grossed $70 million worldwide, which already propels it into the highest-grossing horror movies of all time. It will soon surpass its reported $90 million budget and keep rising, with $100 million and beyond easily in its sights. It has already beaten some of the most iconic horror movies ever, and will take down plenty more by the time its run ends.”
Audiences want interesting movies, as long as studios and filmmakers are willing to take risks and make something new. Of course, this is just one example, but my IMAX theater for Sinners was packed to the gills with New Yorkers hanging on every dance, development and jumpscare. There was also an applause break for Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another trailer. Show us good movies, and we’ll see them.
So, I know I’ve written a lot of words about Sinners without breaking down any plot points or storytelling arcs, but that’s because you should go see this in theaters; don’t just read a bunch of bullet points in a newsletter. There’s stuff in here that I haven’t seen before, and even with its overarching, sermonic themes, it’s just a damn good time at the movies.
I hope Coogler uses this Blank Check to make another Blank Check and then another and then another. He can do whatever he wants next, and I can’t wait to see where this goes.