After lighting up the box office with an original horror tale no one saw coming, Sinners is now claiming its throne on streaming—and it’s doing so with bite. Ryan Coogler’s blood-soaked Southern horror epic, Sinners, dropped on Max this July 4, and it’s already dominating the charts. Just days after landing on the platform, the film shot to #1 in the U.S., giving subscribers a chance to catch what’s become the surprise juggernaut of 2025. With a Certified Fresh 97% on Rotten Tomatoes and a sky-high 96% audience score, the dual Michael B. Jordan-starrer is now officially a box office and streaming sensation.
It’s rare these days to see a film not tethered to an existing franchise break through, but Sinners proved there’s still a hunger for something original—especially when it’s this good. After grossing $362 million worldwide, the film now holds the crown as the biggest opening for an original horror title since Us and the highest CinemaScore (an “A”) for any non-franchise horror film ever. So it’s not bad, right?
What Is ‘Sinners’ About?
Directed and co-written by Coogler, Sinners follows identical twins Smoke and Stack Moore (both played with intensity and nuance by Michael B. Jordan), who return to their Mississippi hometown to open a juke joint for the local Black community. What begins as a soulful celebration of heritage, family, and music turns into a terrifying all-nighter when supernatural creatures descend on opening night.
Also starring Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O’Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Delroy Lindo, and breakout star Miles Caton, Sinners blends Southern Gothic horror with folklore, Black cultural history, and even threads of Irish myth. Collider’s Emma Kiely called it “a spectacle hoisted up by exceptional visual storytelling,” giving it an 8/10 and praising the dual performance by Jordan as “layered, emotional, and savage in equal measure.”
The runaway success of Sinners has naturally triggered sequel speculation. There’s certainly room for it—especially around Caton’s scene-stealing Sammie or a prequel focused on vampire leader Remmick, played by Jack O’Connell with haunting menace. But Coogler isn’t exactly foaming at the mouth to expand the universe.
Speaking with Ebony earlier this month, Coogler explained that Sinners was a very intentional break from the franchise grind:
“I’ve been in a space of making franchise films for a bit, so I wanted to get away from that. I was looking forward to working on a film that felt original and personal to me and had an appetite for delivering something to audiences that was original and unique. I wanted the movie to feel like a full meal: your appetizers, starters, entrées, and desserts, I wanted all of it there. I wanted it to be a holistic and finished thing.”
Sinners is streaming now on HBO Max.
