Sinners began the year as a miracle. Warner Bros. bet big on Ryan Coogler and his vision, agreeing not only to a $90+ million budget for an original horror movie but to revert the rights to the filmmaker after 25 years, a rare (but not unheard of) concession from a major studio. Doubt over its ability to be profitable in this marketplace was national news ahead of its release.

That bet paid off. The film was a domestic box office phenomenon , grossing $278 million on its way to a worldwide total of $366 million, and earned rave reviews from critics and audiences alike. People went multiple times; Coogler fanned the flames of the projection format fire that Oppenheimer lit. It was one of those movies that felt like it merited the culture's full attention , a feeling that's all too

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