A worrying new report suggests that Warner Bros. may have severely miscalculated with Sinners. Ryan Coogler’s new horror film focuses on the journey of twin brothers who return to their hometown only to find that something sinister is lurking there. The Sinners cast includes Michael B. Jordan, Miles Caton, Saul Williams, Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O’Connor, and Tenaj L. Jackson. With the movie hitting theaters soon, it’s projected to make around $40-50 million during its opening weekend in hopes of continuing Warner Bros.’s box office streak following A Minecraft Movie.

Per Puck, Warner Bros. may have set the movie up to fail, as the source suggests that the $90 million budget for the film was likely far too high. This valuation came after the film was bid to multiple studios, who allegedly estimated its reasonable cost to be around $60 million. Warner Bros. Entertainment Chairperson Mike De Luca “stuck his neck out for” Sinners, and allowed the studio to buy it for higher. Now rumored to have cost even more, the source estimated that Sinners will need to do around $300 million at the box office to profit.

What This Means For Sinners

Sinners Is Getting Great Reviews

Despite the troubling update, early reviews for Sinners are incredible, with the film holding a perfect 100% Tomatometer with 52 critical reviews thus far. If this score remains, it would become Coogler’s best-reviewed movie in his already impressive career. However, the chances of hitting $300 million may be a pipe dream, as the report admits that it may not have the power to do so, especially with more releases like Thunderbolts* along the way. Even more significant is the fact that Warner Bros. also allowed Coogler to get full rights to the movie in 25 years.

If the report is true, this puts Warner Bros. co-chairpersons and CEOs De Luca and Pamela Abdy in the H๏τ seat once again. Earlier in the year, there had been reports that De Luca and Abdy could be axed at Warner Bros. following a series of box office misfires like Mickey 17, which is expected to lose about $75-80 million. However, following the box office megahit with A Minecraft Movie, which has been breaking records, it seemed that the Warner Bros. executives may have avoided the boot. A key reason is due to over-budgeting movies, with Sinners seemingly being the latest case.

Our Take On This Sinners News

Sinners Flopping Will Be So Disappointing

If Sinners flops at the box office, it could be a huge disappointment. Many people have praised the original movie, including auteur Spike Lee who called it a vital piece of “Black cinematic power.” Coogler is highly respected within the industry, so this movie’s disappointment at the box office would be a particularly strong blow to the film community. It sounds like Warner Bros. may have made a major miscalculation when budgeting for Sinners, but one can only hope that the movie might be great enough to get a miraculous box office win.

Source: Puck