Sinnersis sweeping the movie industry right now, making for a kind of phenomenon we only see very rarely. Directed by Ryan Coogler ofCreedandBlack Pantherfame, starring his regular leading man Michael B. Jordan,Sinnersis a celebration of history and community combined with an action-packed vampire horror, all while being amovie that is only sort of a musicalin a very thrilling way. Jordan leadsSinners’castas twin brothers Smoke and Stack, who return to their Mississippi hometown with hopes of opening up a juke joint, which ends in bloody chaos.
Sinners’reviewspraise it for much more than its strong vampire action when the movie covers themes including found family, connection through music, assimilation, personal corruption, and more, andScreen Rant’s Mae Abdulbakisays “the exquisite vampire horror is already one of the best films of the year.“People can’t get enough of this electric, well-paced hit that makes it feel like the golden age of Hollywood could be reclaimed after all,bringing to mind another recent and instantly iconic fantasy movie that also broke the mold for prestigious awards shows.
Sinners Looks Like 2025’s Version Of Everything Everywhere All At Once
Movie History Is Repeating Itself In The Best Way Possible
In March 2022, the directorial duo known as “The Daniels” releasedEverything Everywhere All at Once, a strange indie film that had managed to assemble a unique mix of recognized A-listers and underappreciated talent for what is called an “absurdist comedy-drama” plot. The directors had seen some well-reviewed work but were hardly heavy box office hitters. However,Everything Everywhere All at Oncequickly took off, grossing an amazing $143 million worldwide when it only had a budget of $25 million. Word of mouth then did the rest, and everyone soon knew it was something truly special.
Similarly, no one had any reason to think thatSinnerswould be bad, but maybe didn’t expect it to become a burgeoning cultural touchstone. Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan had plenty of goodwill with the industry, and it would be a nice change of pace to see them working outside an established franchise, even if it was a quieter release. However,likeEverything Everywhere All at Once,Sinnersmade a splash from the start and has been on the riseever since.Sinnershas broken box office recordsand could easily be many people’s favorite film of the year.
Which naturally translates to awards talk when many would love to see it dominate the 2026 Oscars.Sinnerswould be at a fundamental disadvantagewhen many movies that come out earlier in the year simply miss the train on awarding bodies' attention. However,Everything Everywhere All at Oncealso came out in the spring,prompted talk about awards season early, and saw this all the way to a Best Picture win. In other words, this is certainly possible now forSinners.
Sinners' Genre-Bending Story & Deep Themes Are Similar To Everything Everywhere All At Once
EEAAO & Sinners Are Both Crazy, Hard-To-Define Movies With Such Heartfelt Themes
To put it simply,we had never seen anything likeEverything Everywhere All at Oncebefore,and I am still astounded by the weirdest things that it does that somehow still demand to be taken seriously. From talking rocks toRatatouillewith a raccoon to the most bizarre fight scenes ever, this movie truly embraces the vision of the multiverse whereeverythingyou can possibly think of exists out there somewhere. Yet this concept is gracefully bound together by the motif of choosing the things that matter despite crushing nihilism being the obvious answer and giving each universe its own happy ending.
Sinners and Everything Everywhere All at Once find their most important commonality in the theme of family.
Sinnerstakes after the genre-bending Best Picture winner by pushing the envelope on the vampire genre,meshing it with musical numbers and even some elements of time travel. However,SinnersandEverything Everywhere All at Oncefind their most important commonality in the theme of family. Each movie comes down to the importance of family, stressing the empowerment found in it in a nonsensical and often cruel world. Each movie is about a specific cultural experience (a modern-day Chinese immigrant family vs. a mostly Black community in 1930s Mississippi) but tells us that family, connection, and humanity are universal.
Sinners Has Already Beaten Everything Everywhere All At Once At The Box Office & On Rotten Tomatoes
Is Sinners Better Than Everything Everywhere All At Once?
IsSinnersactually better thanEverything Everywhere All at Once? This is subjective and comes down to personal genre preferences, favorite actors, or an aversion to gore that would make the latter the better choice. However,Sinnerscurrently holds a 98% critics' approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes againstEverything Everywhere’s 94%.Admittedly, as the dust settles and the initial awe of the movie dies down,Sinnersmay fall just a little bit, but it still has four points to go before it is no longer “better” than its predecessor.
On the other hand, box office numbers can only go up. WhileEverything Everywhere All at Once’s grand total ended up being $143 million,Sinnersis currently at $168 million worldwide and is still in theaters with the potential to earn more.Sinners’budget is $90 million, meaning it won’t make as much of a profit. However, it was probably easier to market as a straightforward vampire horror with the promise of more depth from Coogler’s writing and direction, rather thanEverywhere Everywhere’s completely out-there concept.
Will Sinners Match Everything Everywhere All At Once’s Oscars Performance?
Everything Everywhere All At Once Scored 11 Nominations & 7 Wins
Sinnerscould be a huge Oscars winner next year, but I don’t see it quite matchingEverything Everywhere All at Once’s numbers. The latter pulled off the incredible feat of winning three out of the four acting categories, and I would guess thatMichael B. Jordan is the only real acting contender forSinners.Jack O’Connell and Delroy Lindo might pull Supporting Actor nominations, but it’s unlikely either of them would win. A huge push forEverything Everywherewas its performances, which masterfully tied together alternate versions of the characters and the overall themes.
“This Is a Life” by Ryan Lott, David Byrne, Mitski
Nominated
Sinnersdemonstrates the technical prowess to make it a true competitor in many of the other categoriesEverything Everywhere All at Oncewon. If this truly isRyan Coogler’s best movieyet, it would make sense for him to win Best Director for it. He could also easily get Best Original Screenplay, which has gone to the horror genre in relatively recent years with the groundbreaking masterpiece ofGet Out. UnlikeEverything Everywhere, cinematography might be a possibility forSinners.
Overall, critics appreciate Sinners now, and that adoration could only strengthen in the next year.
WhereSinnerscould also be a winner and catch up withEverything Everywhere All at Oncein number of nominations/wins is sound.Sinnersis notably managing more distinctive sound editing, and music plays a larger role in the story. Hailee Steinfeld’s original song “Dangerous” isn’t going to win when it’s inevitably going to have to compete withWicked 2’s new songs, but Original Score could happen. Overall, critics appreciateSinnersnow, and that adoration could only strengthen in the next year.
Sinners
Cast
Sinners follows twin brothers who, in an attempt to escape their past hardships, return to their hometown seeking a fresh start. However, they find themselves confronted by a formidable and sinister presence awaiting their comeback. The 2025 film explores themes of redemption and malevolence.
Everything Everywhere All at Once
In Everything Everywhere All at Once, a middle-aged laundromat owner (Michelle Yeoh) is distracted from her financial and family issues by a multiversal crisis. With just her husband (Ke Huy Quan) to support her through the confusion, she must contend with her overbearing traditional father (James Hong), a pencil-pushing auditor (Jamie Lee Curtis), and her emotionally-distant daughter (Stephanie Hsu).
