‘Sinners’ Returns to IMAX for One Week Only
Attention all film nerds, clear your calendar because Sinners is back in theaters — but only for one week, and only in IMAX. This re-release of Ryan Coogler’s genre-defying original is a cinematic event for people who feel movies, not just watch them. If you missed it the first time (or watched it on a screen the size of a laptop and felt vaguely guilty about it), this is your chance to experience it how it was meant to be seen — visceral, towering, and inescapable.
The limited IMAX run will hit just a few key theaters across the U.S. from May 15-May 22, including:
Universal Cinema AMC at Citywalk Hollywood & IMAX — Los Angeles, CA
Regal Irvine Spectrum & IMAX — Irvine, CA
AMC Lincoln Square 13 & IMAX — New York, NY
AMC Metreon 16 & IMAX — San Francisco, CA
Set deep in the Mississippi Delta, Sinners shines a rare spotlight on a region that’s often flattened into caricature — or ignored entirely. Coogler anchors the story in a rural Black community haunted by more than just legends. He reaches into the lesser-known histories of the Delta and its buried stories passed down through generations. In classic Coogler fashion, he treats them not as backdrop, but as a rich soul with stories that leave the audience with impactful impression and curiosity.
The originality of the film is what made it such a hit. According to Box Office Mojo (by IMDb Pro), Sinners pulled in an impressive $223.1 million domestically, accounting for 76.3% of its total box office haul. International audiences added another $69.3 million, bringing its worldwide gross to over $292.4 million. That’s nearly $300 million for a film with no franchise, no superheroes, and no existing IP — a major feat in the current cinema landscape.
This kind of success isn’t surprising whatsoever if you’ve been following Ryan Coogler’s work. From Fruitvale Station to Creed to Black Panther (the first ever Marvel movie to be nominated for “Best Picture” at the Academy Awards), he’s shown time and again that he knows how to translate personal, cultural, and political truths onto the big-screen. Sinners feels like one of his most precise projects to date — thoughtful, tense, and deeply human (despite it being a vampire movie).
The soundscape of the film is crucial. Its entirety is steeped in the blues, with a soundtrack and score that carries the blood memory of the region in every note. That sound is orchestrated by composer Ludwig Göransson, Coogler’s longtime collaborator, whose fingerprints are all over some of the most emotionally potent scores of the past decade. Göransson won an Academy Award for Black Panther’s score, and his credits also include Tenet, Oppenheimer, The Mandalorian, Creed, Fruitvale Station, and Community (yes, really). With Sinners, it’s all about atmospheric storytelling — channeling early Delta blues and spirituals to create something that feels lived-in, not layered on.
This IMAX run is a godsend and is almost like going back to film church. The music alone deserves to be experienced on a scale that shakes your bones. And that one scene everyone can’t stop talking about — you know the one — hits different when the whole room is holding its breath in awe.
“In this day and age with folks having so much access to streaming and watching so many things on their phones, it’s nice to have a format like IMAX that can be an experience you can only experience in the theaters,” Coogler said in an interview with the AP.
With only so much time to catch it on the big(gest) screen, this is your sign to make a plan. Tickets are already going fast so don’t sleep on it.
