Summary

Sinners will have a re-release on IMAX 70mm due to overwhelming demand.
Word-of-mouth and quality play a huge role in the success of Sinners.
Despite only showing in 9 theaters, Sinners' success indicates a potential $230 million domestic finish.

Whether it’s at the box office or in reviews, news concerning Ryan Coogler’s Sinners seems 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, Sinners is a vampire horror-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. Sinners opened with $45.6 million domestically and $15.6 million from 71 overseas markets, ousting fellow Warner Bros. Title A Minecraft Movie as the top dog in the U.S. The film is also second to Jordan Peele’s Nope ($44.4 million) in terms of the strongest domestic debuts for an original horror film, although the director still holds the ultimate record with US ($70.3 million).

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By Michael Cantrell

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 of Thunderbolts* on May 2, Exhibitors initially set Sinners to 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 by Variety, anyone in the United States and Canada who missed out on the 70 mm glory of Sinners on 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 that Sinners captivated 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 and Oppenheimer, 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: Maverick is an inappropriate example because an IMAX release only happened years after the original release.

Anyone exaggerating the impact of this re-release on Sinners’ 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, overtaking A Quiet Place: Day One and Five Nights At Freddy's as 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, beating IT’s $4 million in 2019 and even surpassing Oppenheimer’s $5.9 million. Only Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) performed better on a second Wednesday among R-rated titles, with $9.9 million. So, with or without an IMAX re-release, Sinners is destined for at least a $230 million domestic finish.