‘Sinners’ Puts a Stake Through the Highest-Grossing Conjuring Universe Movie at Global Box Office

Among the many facets of director Ryan Coogler’s Sinners that were praised by audiences and critics was Jack O’Connell’s supporting performance as the villainous vampire Remmick. Viewers who checked out the zombie sequel 28 Years Later this weekend would’ve been pleasantly surprised to see him pop up at a particularly unexpected moment in the movie, delivering yet another scene-stealing performance. Both Sinners and 28 Years Later are playing in theaters simultaneously, with the former now approaching the end of its massive run, having just passed its biggest milestone yet.

This weekend, Sinners became the fifth-biggest horror movie in global box office history, after overtaking the highest-grossing installment of James Wan’s Conjuring Universe: The Nun. Directed by Corin Hardy, The Nun grossed $362 million worldwide in 2018, and has now been pushed to the number six spot on the all-time charts. Sinners now trails The Exorcist, It: Chapter Two, Jaws, and It. Domestically, it’s the second-biggest horror movie in history, trailing only It on the all-time list.

Sinners isn’t based on pre-existing intellectual property, which makes its success all the more special. The movie was produced on a reported budget of $90 million, and was rolled out in select locations equipped to play it on the premium IMAX 70 mm format. Coogler was given the kind of respect that a studio would normally reserve for only Christopher Nolan and Quentin Tarantino. Like Tarantino, he succeeded in striking an unusual deal with Warner Bros., which will see Sinners’ rights revert to him after 25 years. He certainly proved himself, with the movie not only generating massive box office returns, but also earning excellent reviews.

Coogler Is Returning to Franchise Filmmaking

It holds a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, making Coogler one of the few filmmakers around who has never delivered a “rotten” movie in their career. He’s now also among the highest-grossing directors of all time, with just five features under his belt. Coogler intends on expanding Sinners into a franchise, but is reportedly going to return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe next, with a planned third film in the Black Panther series. You can watch Sinners at home, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.