'Sinners' Box Office: Who Needs King Kong, Godzilla or Even Michael Jackson?

Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan's original vampire thriller is taking a second-weekend drop on par with 'Get Out,' 'The Sixth Sense' and (haha?) 'Puss in Boots'.

Okay, Mr. Coogler, *now* you’re Puss in Boots. The writer and director of Warner Bros. Discovery’s R-rated, original, adult-skewing Sinners gave an interview prior to the film's release, where he discussed how the film’s primary antagonist was partially inspired by the otherworldly villain in DreamWorks’ (terrific) Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. It was another reminder that many of the filmmakers you love who have a reputation for making “upscale” popcorn entertainment (like Christopher Nolan) are every bit as willing to embrace well-made pulp fiction (like MacGruber) as regular moviegoers. For that matter, I’ve long argued that, at least as far as film geekery goes, we are each “defined” not by the popular movies we hate but by the less-expected films (Shanghai Knights, Meet the Robinsons, etc.) we love.

Fun fact: Puss in Boots opened in late October of 2011 with a “low for DreamWorks” (at the time) $34 million. It then dropped just 3% for a $33 million second-weekend gross. Funner fact: Sinners earned $13 million on its second Friday, dropping just 32% (noting $4.7 million in previews) from its opening day. Last Friday was Good Friday and last Sunday was Easter Sunday, so expect a $44 million second weekend for the Michael B. Jordan (x2)-starring vampire flick. That would be a drop of just 8%, right between Jordan Peele’s Get Out (-15% from a $33 million launch in 2017) and M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense (-3.5% from a $26 million debut in 1999). That will give Sinners a $122 million ten-day cume.