The weekend box office is heating up with some serious competition.  Sinners, a period vampire flick, is making waves with a strong $4. 7 million haul on Thursday.  This is a big deal because it's a unique movie, not based on any existing story or real-life events.  It's also the first time that Warner Bros. movie chiefs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy have fully backed a project from start to finish.  This is a big risk, but it could pay off big time.

    The movie has some serious advantages.  It reunites director Ryan Coogler with his frequent star, Michael B. Jordan.  This duo has a track record of success, from the indie hit Fruitvale Station to the Black Panther franchise.  Plus, Sinners has a stellar 97% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, the best of Coogler’s career.  This is a big deal because it shows that critics are really impressed with the movie.

    But will the audience feel the same way?  Warner Bros. is playing it safe, aiming for a $35 million to $40 million opening weekend.  But tracking services are more optimistic, predicting $40 million to $45 million.  Some rival studios think it could even hit $50 million.  It's a gamble, considering the movie is R-rated and set in a specific time period.  But with a $90 million budget, it's clear that Warner Bros. is betting big on this one.

    Meanwhile, Minecraft is still going strong.  The video game adaptation has already made over $300 million domestically and is on track to become one of the top video game movies of all time.  It's also the top-grossing movie of 2025 so far, which is a big win for De Luca and Abdy.

    Sinners is a big deal for De Luca and Abdy.  It shows their commitment to working with high-profile directors and giving them the freedom to make the movies they want.  It's a risky move, but if it pays off, it could be a defining moment for their careers.

    The movie is set in 1932 and stars Jordan as identical twin entrepreneurs, Smoke and Stack.  After surviving World War I and Chicago gangland, the brothers return to their segregated Mississippi Delta hometown with a plan to open a juke joint.  But things don't go as planned, and they encounter some unexpected horrors.  It's a unique story with plenty of thematic layers and genre fluidity.  In other words, it's a movie that could keep audiences talking long after the credits roll.

The Big Bite of Sinners: A Fresh Look at the Weekend Box Office

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