There’s a recurring gripe in Hollywood circles: the industry just doesn’t make original films anymore. Audiences are bombarded with remakes, reboots, sequels, and sprawling cinematic universes.
Original concepts are rare—and their success at the box office even rarer. So when a completely original film not backed by a major studio manages to dethrone heavyweights like Disney and Marvel, it’s a genuine “stop the presses” moment.
The Indie Film That Stole the Spotlight
In 2025, Ryan Coogler proved his storytelling range with Sinners, a gothic vampire thriller produced independently under his Proximity Media banner. The film stars Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, and Jack O’Connell, and was made on a $90 million budget. Warner Bros picked up the distribution rights after production wrapped, but the film’s core remained fully independent.
Released in April, Sinners quickly caught fire at the domestic box office, grossing an astonishing $272 million in North America alone. That makes it the third-highest-grossing film in the U.S. this year—and the highest-grossing original live-action film in the territory in over 15 years.
To put that in perspective, Sinners outperformed original hits like Dunkirk ($188M), Crazy Rich Asians ($174M), Knives Out ($165M), 1917 ($157M), and Nope ($123M). The last original live-action film to post better numbers? Christopher Nolan’s Inception in 2010, with $292 million.
How Sinners Outpaced Blockbuster IPs
Beyond its triumph as an original film, Sinners also held its own—and then some—against high-profile studio releases. Domestically, it beat out:
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John Wick: Chapter 4 ($187M)
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Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire ($196M)
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Mufasa: The Lion King ($126M)
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Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning ($151M)
Even Marvel’s 2025 tentpoles—Captain America: Brave New World ($200M) and Thunderbolts ($187M)—couldn’t top Coogler’s vampire saga.
A Modest Global Footprint, But a Big Win Overall
Unsurprisingly, Sinners didn’t match its domestic firepower overseas. With an international haul under $85 million, the film’s global box office stands at $357 million. While that total still surpasses some original hits like Tenet and Dunkirk, it trails behind franchise-driven fare, which tends to perform better internationally.
Still, Sinners ends up as the sixth-highest-grossing Hollywood film of the year—and it did so without the backing of a mega-franchise, a billion-dollar marketing push, or a built-in fanbase.
In an era of cinematic sameness, Sinners proves that original stories, when executed well, can still captivate audiences—and dominate the box office.
