'Sinners' Tops Box Office With $61 Million Global Debut

Sinners officially debuted at the top of the box office.

The Ryan Coogler-directed and Michael B. Jordan-starring R-rated vampire thriller earned $45.6 million in North America with another $15.4 million internationally for a global tally of $61 million, according to Variety.

Sinners’ North American opening weekend tally comes from 3,308 theaters. Premium large formats like Dolby and 4DX made up 45% of its ticket sales with IMAX separately accounting for 20%.

The publication also notes Warner Bros. spent $90 million to produce the film, before global marketing-related expenses were factored, and raises questions about the film’s profitability.

Meanwhile, A Minecraft Movie dropped to second with $41.3 million, but has already racked up $720.8 million worldwide. Whether that number will continue to increase, thanks to rowdy theatergoers losing their minds over the viral “chicken jockey” scene, remains to be seen.

Sinners also made headlines this week over Coogler’s deal with Warner Bros. that will allow him to own the copyright to Sinners 25 years after its release. He joins a small pool of Hollywood directors, including Quentin Tarantino and George Lucas, that have successfully negotiated the ownership of their works, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

In Sinners, Jordan plays identical twin brothers in a 1930s Southern setting overrun by vampires. The film was inspired by Coogler’s grandfather, whom he never met, and his uncle James, who passed away in 2015.

“My uncle James loved to do three things: listening to Delta blues music, he loved drinking all types of whiskey, and he loved the San Francisco Giants, watching them on TV and listening to them on the radio,” Coogler told Business Insider. “So if you went and spent time with him he was doing one or all three of those things.”

“That act of listening to that music and feeling he was there with me is kind of what inspired the period setting and the blues. And that is why the movie is so personal,” he added.

Coogler also told BI he won't be pursuing the rights for future works, saying, “No, it was this specific project.”

Sinners is in theaters now.

Sinners officially debuted at the top of the box office. The Ryan Coogler-directed and Michael B. Jordan-starring R-rated vampire thriller earned $45.6 million in North America with another $15.4 million internationally for a global tally of $61 million, according to Variety.