Ryan Coogler’s original horror film was expected to sell a strong $40 million-plus in tickets over the weekend. But its profitability remains a long way off.
“Sinners” was on pace to sell about $43 million in tickets in North America from Thursday afternoon through Sunday, box office analysts said, a terrific result for an original, R-rated, slow-burning horror drama set in the 1930s and rooted in Black culture. Reviews were rapturous.
But the film — directed, written and produced by Ryan Coogler — was hugely expensive, analysts noted, costing Warner Bros. at least $150 million to make and market worldwide. The studio also agreed to demands by Mr. Coogler’s representatives for unusually generous compensation.
As a result, for Warner Bros. to make money, “Sinners” will need to attract substantial crowds in the weeks ahead. “It’s an excellent opening for a period horror film, except that it’s hard to call it completely successful because of its enormous budget,” David A. Gross, a film consultant, said in an email.
In a statement, Pam Abdy and Mike De Luca, co-chairs of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, said they were “thrilled” by the “stellar” turnout. “Warner Bros. Pictures remains committed to bringing singular in-theater experiences to audiences looking for bold movies, both original and those based on beloved existing properties,” they said.
Ms. Abdy and Mr. De Luca have been on a victory lap of late. “A Minecraft Movie,” which they put into production in consultation with David Zaslav, the chief executive of Warner Bros. Discovery, was expected to be No. 1 at the domestic box office over the weekend — for the third weekend in a row. Ticket sales for “A Minecraft Movie,” made with Legendary Entertainment, are expected to total about $45 million from Friday through Sunday, for a cumulative $348 million in North America since arriving on April 4.