Sinners Beats A Minecraft Movie at the Box Office

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The critically-acclaimed horror film “Sinners,” produced by Ryan Coogler and starring Michael B. Jordan, has made a phenomenal debut at the box office, surpassing the earnings of “A Minecraft Movie” and claiming the top spot.

The latest movie tells the story of Jordan, twin brothers Smoke and Stack, who return to their roots in the Mississippi Delta to establish a nightclub. As twilight descends and the crowd begins to dance, an affable Irishman named Jack O’Connell unexpectedly shows up, requesting entry – triggering a series of chaotic events.

One of the most highly acclaimed widely distributed movies of the past ten years, it received an astounding 98% and 97% approval from certified critics and audiences respectively on Rotten Tomatoes. It also achieved the first ‘A’ CinemaScore for a horror movie in history.

Indeed, it wasn’t surprising at all that there was quite a lot of excitement surrounding its debut weekend, as moviegoers from various corners of the globe rushed to theaters to find out what everyone’s been talking about.

How much has Sinners made at the box office?

To date, the film “Sinners” has grossed approximately $61 million globally. In its debut weekend, it earned an impressive $45.6 million within the United States, while generating another $15.4 million from international cinemas.

This achievement is quite significant for an original R-rated production. In truth, it’s the top box office opening for an original movie in this decade since Jordan Peele’s “Nope” in 2022, and it boasts the largest debut of any original film since “Us” by Jordan Peele in 2019.

Furthermore, it’s worth mentioning that this movie outperformed a Minecraft film at the domestic box office. The box office earnings for the video game adaptation dipped to second place in North America, accumulating an additional $41.3 million – effectively, Warner Bros earned more than $40m across two films within the same weekend, which is quite uncommon.

In Minecraft, the top earner pocketed a whopping $17.2 million, while an up-and-coming player brought in $7.2 million, and Warfare earned $4.85 million.

How much does Sinners need to make?

Sinners needs to make around $225 million at the box office to break even.

It’s worth noting that while Sinners is said to have cost Warner Bros $90 million in production expenses, it’s essential to remember that this figure does not account for advertising costs. Typically, a movie needs to earn around 2.5 times its budget to cover all its costs, including fees to exhibitors, merchandising, taxes, and other related expenses, before it can be considered profitable.

Why is the Sinners box office causing controversy?

Critics on social media have taken issue with how certain publications, such as Variety and The New York Times, have reported the box office earnings of the film “Sinners.

To put it simply, the impressive first weekend performance of Sinners deserves recognition for numerous reasons: it broke records as a new film from the 2020s, it’s among the top 10 films with the highest Easter weekend debuts ever, and many believe its box office earnings will continue to grow as more people talk about it.

In which world does a $60 million opening for an original studio film merit such a headline?

— Ben Stiller (@BenStiller) April 21, 2025

Regrettably, Variety emphasized their substantial budget and cautioned that they are still some distance from achieving profitability. Likewise, The New York Times stated that their success comes with a significant caveat: their profitability is yet to be realized in the distant future.

It’s been noted that other films haven’t faced as much critical examination as this one. For instance, Quentin Tarantino’s film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood had a similar successful opening weekend and comparable budget, yet publications didn’t express concerns about its potential underperformance at the box office.

Ben Stiller criticized Variety directly on Twitter by saying: “How can a $60 million debut for an original studio film merit such a headline?” (Or alternatively, “Ben Stiller questioned the appropriateness of a $60 million opening for an original studio movie prompting such a headline.”)

Where Sinners ranks on the 2025 box office

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2025-04-21 16:48