Sinners is a 2025 American horror film written, co-produced, and directed by Ryan Coogler. Set in 1932 during the Great Depression in the Mississippi Delta, the film stars Michael B. Jordan in dual roles as twin brothers who return to their hometown, only to face a rising supernatural evil. The ensemble cast also includes Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Jack O'Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Miller, and Delroy Lindo.
Coogler developed Sinners through his production company Proximity Media in early 2024, with Jordan attached to star. After a competitive bidding war, Warner Bros. Pictures acquired distribution rights in February 2024. Additional casting occurred in April, and principal photography ran from April to July 2024. Frequent Coogler collaborator Ludwig Göransson composed the film’s score and served as an executive producer.
Sinners premiered on April 3, 2025, and was theatrically released in the United States on April 18, 2025. It received widespread critical acclaim, praised particularly for Coogler's direction, the cast’s performances, and Göransson’s score. The film has grossed over $121 million worldwide.
Plot[]
In 1932, identical twins and World War I veterans Smoke and Stack Moore return to the Mississippi Delta after years working for the Chicago Outfit. Using money stolen from gangsters, they purchase a sawmill from the racist landowner Hogwood, intending to transform it into a juke joint serving the local Black community. They are joined by their cousin Sammie, an aspiring guitarist, despite objections from Sammie’s father Jedediah, a stern pastor who believes blues music is tied to the supernatural.
The twins gather a small team to run the joint: pianist Delta Slim and singer Pearline as performers, Smoke’s estranged wife Annie as cook, local shopkeepers Grace and Bo Chow as suppliers, and field worker Cornbread as a bouncer. Meanwhile, Stack rekindles tensions with his ex-girlfriend Mary, who is now passing as white and harbors resentment for his past abandonment. Smoke and Annie also clash over her spiritual practices; while Annie credits her rituals for protecting them, Smoke bitterly reminds her that their daughter still died.
Elsewhere, Remmick, an Irish-immigrant vampire, flees Choctaw hunters and violently turns a married Klansman couple into vampires.
On opening night, Sammie’s transcendent music unknowingly summons spirits across time to the juke joint, catching Remmick’s attention. He and his minions arrive, offering wealth and fame for entry. The twins refuse. Secretly meeting Remmick outside, Mary is turned into a vampire and later infects Stack. Smoke shoots Mary, but regular bullets are ineffective. Soon, Cornbread is attacked and turned as well.
As the night spirals into chaos, the vampires begin converting the patrons. Stack reawakens as a vampire, but Annie drives him off with pickled garlic juice. She explains that vampires can be killed only by sunlight, silver, or wooden stakes, and cannot enter without invitation.
Remmick, still unable to enter, proposes a deal: he desires Sammie’s musical power to summon the spirits of his lost community, offering immortality and freedom from racism. Hogwood, he warns, plans a Klan attack at dawn. When the survivors refuse, Remmick manipulates Grace into inviting the vampires inside by threatening her daughter. Grace, Delta Slim, and Annie perish during the onslaught, while Mary flees, overcome with grief.
Smoke, Sammie, and Pearline attempt to flee but are ambushed by Stack and Remmick. In a brutal clash, Smoke battles Stack while Sammie and Pearline confront Remmick. Pearline is bitten and urges Sammie to run. Sammie ultimately defeats Remmick by smashing his guitar over his head, buying time for Smoke to stake him. As dawn breaks, the vampire horde is incinerated. Smoke, mortally wounded, slays Hogwood and the Klan before dying, finding peace in a vision of Annie and their daughter.
Sammie, battered and heartbroken, returns to Jedediah’s church. Rejecting his father's pleas for salvation through music’s abandonment, he leaves with his guitar, unwilling to turn his back on his art.
Sixty years later, an aged Sammie, now a renowned blues musician in Chicago, is visited by an ageless Stack and Mary. Stack reveals that Smoke spared him that night, on the condition that Sammie would live freely. Offering him immortality, the couple is refused. After a final performance for them, Sammie reflects on the juke joint’s opening night: haunted by its tragedy, but cherishing it as the greatest day of his life. Stack agrees, marking it as the last time he saw his brother, the last time he saw the sun, and the only time he ever felt free.
Cast[]
- Michael B. Jordan as Elijah "Smoke" Moore / Elias "Stack" Moore, twin brothers and World War I veterans
- Hailee Steinfeld as Mary, Stack's former lover
- Miles Caton as Sammie "Preacher Boy" Moore, aspiring guitarist and cousin to the twins
- Buddy Guy as older Sammie Moore
- Jack O'Connell as Remmick, an Irish vampire fugitive
- Wunmi Mosaku as Annie, Smoke's estranged wife
- Jayme Lawson as Pearline, a singer at the juke joint
- Omar Miller as Cornbread, a field worker and bouncer
- Delroy Lindo as Delta Slim, a blues pianist
- Li Jun Li as Grace Chow, a local shopkeeper and supplier
- Yao as Bo Chow, Grace’s husband and fellow shopkeeper
- Lola Kirke as Joan, a local KKK member
- Peter Dreimanis as Bert, a KKK member
- David Maldonado as Hogwood, a racist landowner and Klan leader
- Saul Williams as Jedidiah Moore, Sammie’s stern father
- Helena Hu as Lisa Chow, Bo and Grace’s daughter
- Andrene Ward-Hammond as Ruthie, a community member
- Nathaniel Arcand as Chayton, a Choctaw vampire hunter
- Tenaj L. Jackson as Beatrice, a local woman
- Nicole Banks as Jacob
Production[]
Sinners is the fifth collaboration between writer-director Ryan Coogler and actor Michael B. Jordan. In January 2024, it was reported that Coogler was developing an untitled period film through his company Proximity Media, with Jordan set to star. The story was rumored to involve the undead and take place in the Jim Crow-era South. Sony, Warner Bros., and Universal entered a bidding war to distribute the film, which had a $90 million budget. Coogler negotiated first-dollar gross, final cut rights, and ownership of the film after 25 years, and Warner Bros. ultimately secured distribution.
Additional cast members joined in April and May 2024. Filming began in New Orleans on April 14, 2024, under the working title Grilled Cheese and wrapped on July 17. Autumn Durald Arkapaw shot the movie on 65mm film using IMAX 70mm and Ultra Panavision cameras, resulting in alternating 1.43:1 and 2.76:1 aspect ratios. The production spent $67.6 million in Louisiana, and the final budget grew to about $100 million.
Music[]
Composer Ludwig Göransson, a frequent Coogler collaborator, created the score for Sinners, calling it a personal project. He was inspired by blues music and performed much of the score on a 1932 Dobro Cyclops resonator guitar, like the one seen in the film. Göransson worked with his wife Serena, a violinist, to produce the songs with care and authenticity. They teamed up with producer Boo Mitchell and recorded at Royal Studios in Memphis, working with artists like Alvin Youngblood Hart, Cedric Burnside, and Buddy Guy (who also appears in the film).
The soundtrack features performances by cast members and blues musicians. It was recorded live on set and finalized in a New Orleans studio.
Unlike most Warner Bros. films, the Sinners soundtrack was released through Sony Masterworks on April 18, 2025, alongside the movie. It includes 22 tracks, and Rod Wave's single "Sinners" was released two weeks earlier.
Release[]
Sinners was released in the U.S. on April 18, 2025. It was originally set for March 7 but delayed to April to allow more time for post-production due to the use of rare film stock. The movie also received a limited release in IMAX 70mm.
Reception[]
Box Office[]
By April 25, 2025, Sinners had earned $90.5 million domestically and $31.2 million internationally, totaling $121.7 million worldwide. Breaking even was estimated at anywhere between $170 million and $300 million due to Coogler’s earnings, marketing costs, and distribution deals. Some industry figures criticized media outlets for focusing more on the box office numbers than the film’s success with audiences and critics.
The movie was projected to open with $30–40 million but debuted with $48 million, beating expectations and topping the box office. It had strong walk-up ticket sales, benefited from spring break, and performed well on IMAX and premium screens. The audience was diverse: 38% Black, 35% White, 18% Latino/Hispanic, and 5% Asian, with most viewers under 35.
Internationally, it earned $15.4 million from 71 markets, with a strong $7.8 million Monday following its U.S. release.
Critical Response[]
Sinners received critical acclaim. It holds a 98% score on Rotten Tomatoes and an 84 on Metacritic. Audiences gave it an "A" CinemaScore, the highest for a horror film in decades, and PostTrak surveys showed a 92% positive rating.
Critics praised Coogler’s vision and the film’s cinematography. They highlighted strong performances by Jordan, Wunmi Mosaku, and new actor Caton. Some reviews said the first, more grounded half of the movie was stronger than its supernatural second half.
The music was widely celebrated. Reviewers noted how the soundtrack blended deeply into the story, calling it "phenomenal" and "a twangy marvel." The live music performances and Göransson’s score were considered key to the film’s emotional impact.