A new update suggested when Ryan Coogler's Sinners will be leaving theaters. The Black Panther director's vampire epic has been one of the biggest success stories in Hollywood this year, drawing rave reviews for its gripping vampire tale and stellar cast led by Michael B. Jordan and Hailee Steinfeld. However, the film will leave some select theater screens starting this week on May 1, 2025 due to another major movie being released.
As Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts* starts playing in theaters, Sinners will take its first step to exit theaters by being pulled from IMAX screens around the globe after two weeks of playing in the premium format.
This does not mean Sinners will leave theaters entirely yet, but it is a significant step on the movie's theatrical release journey. Coogler's latest can be expected to remain in theaters for several months, likely finishing its theatrical run sometime in late June or early July (similar to another recent release, A Minecraft Movie).
This move off IMAX is typical of films in premium large format (PLF) theaters, with their IMAX runs usually only lasting a few weeks. Sinners leaving IMAX theaters is primarily due to Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts* needing PLF screens, which Coogler's blood-sucking blockbuster is currently occupying.
Ultimately, how long a movie remains on the big screen depends on how well it performs. On that front, Sinners has been a big winner.
Recent hits like Wicked and Twisters lasted upwards of 12 weeks in theaters, which seems about where Sinners will land when everything is said and done.
Despite initial projections showing hesitancy surrounding the film, given its original story and R-rating, it has managed to defy the odds. It hit the number-one spot at the global box office for its first two weeks and saw one of the smallest percentage drops from its first to second week for a major theatrical release in decades.
The movie is doing so well that insiders have claimed it could become "the highest-grossing original live-action film in the US since Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity in 2013" (via The Wrap). The longer Sinners can maintain this thrilling run at the box office, the longer it will remain in theaters.
Set in 1930s Mississippi, Sinners tells the story of two brothers who return home to open a juke joint. However, when their night of blues breaches the threshold between light and dark, they (and their guests) become threatened by a group of flesh-starved vampires.
Led by Michael B. Jordan and Hailee Steinfeld and directed by Black Panther filmmaker Ryan Coogler, the film has become one of the most celebrated of the year (read more about the reaction to Sinners here), marking a significant win for Warner Bros. and original genre films as a whole.
When Will Sinners Come To Streaming?
Of course, looking past Sinners' extended viability theaters, the next most logical question will be: When will Ryan Coogler's deep south scare-fest come to streaming?
No streaming details for the film have been revealed; however, one can assume it will eventually get some sort of streaming release after it's finished in theaters.
Typically, new Warner Bros. movies first come to premium video-on-demand (PVOD) before arriving on streaming, and this usually takes about a month after their initial theatrical release.
That would mean Sinners' PVOD debut can be expected by late May, and it will be available on all the usual storefronts (e.g., Google Play, Apple TV, and Amazon Prime Video).
Only after that has happened will a streaming release start to be explored.
Given that Sinners is a Warner Bros. title, it will almost certainly come to the Warner-owned Max streaming platform, joining the likes of Minecraft, Barbie, and other big-name titles.
Streaming dates can be harder to predict, but that does not mean they are impossible.
In recent years, big-name Warner Bros. titles have taken between 100 and 150 days to arrive on streaming, with the most successful titles usually leaning on the longer end of that particular spectrum.
One example that could be a good comparison point is 2023's Barbie. That film was also a massive box office breakout (albeit an even larger one than Sinners is now). After hitting theaters in July 2023, it waited 147 days before coming to Max, hitting the streamer in December of the same year.
Should Sinners continue on the track it is on, a similar theatrical-to-streaming window might be utilized, pushing its streaming release to late August or early September.
