Ben Stiller defends movie against critical box office headline

Ben Stiller recently came to the defense of Ryan Coogler’s new vampiric horror film, Sinners, after a critical report suggested that despite its impressive global debut of $61 million, the movie was still far from profitability. The film, starring Michael B. Jordan and Hailee Steinfeld, opened over Easter weekend and quickly surpassed A Minecraft Movie to dominate the box office.

In a recent Variety article, the outlet mentioned that while the $61 million opening was great, the film still had a long way to go to reach profitability due to its high production costs. Ben Stiller, the director of Severance, was quick to respond on X, questioning the headline and highlighting the success of a $60 million opening for an original studio movie.

Sinners follows Michael B. Jordan as two identical twin brothers who return to their Mississippi hometown to start anew, only to face a greater evil. Set in 1932 during the Jim Crow era, the film explores themes of racial discrimination in the American South. The story unfolds over one night as the twins open a juke joint for an evening of music and entertainment, disrupted by the arrival of the mysterious Remmick, played by Jack O’Connell.

Critics and audiences alike have praised Sinners, with a four-star review from The Independent calling it a potential global sensation. The film currently holds a 97 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and a record-breaking A rating on CinemaScore, making it the first horror movie to achieve this feat. For context, other highly acclaimed horror films like Get Out and Hereditary received lower CinemaScores.

Sinners is now playing in theaters, inviting audiences to experience this original supernatural thriller starring Michael B. Jordan.