Ryan Coogler has raked in over $2 billion in Hollywood and he has only written, produced, and directed five films. His latest, Sinners, saw him wear all three hats for the original screenplay starring his longtime collaborator, Michael B. Jordan. The cinematic gumbo of vampire lore, horror and supernatural themes, Delta Blues, American apartheid, culture, and ancestral history has grossed over $93 million worldwide, according to The Numbers. The film opened in theaters the weekend of April 18 and carried a $90 million production tab.
The story’s Black cast of characters reckon with the ideas of freedom and ownership, and in real life, Coogler has been caught at the intersection of the topic. His deal with Warner Bros. is at the center of the side discourse surrounding the film. The director will retain the rights to his intellectual property in 25 years, according to a clause in his contract with the studio. He also negotiated a financial win by receiving a portion of the box office ticket sales, a first dollar gross agreement, along with creative freedom to determine the final cut of Sinners. However, he is not the first director to secure these perks; the likes of Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese have each secured similar arrangements with past projects.
So, what is the issue with the think pieces and critical assessments proclaiming that this deal will upend the industry? Coogler has some ideas, though he prefers to keep them private. His supporters, however, have spoken on the significance. “There was a time when Black creatives could simply be grateful for the opportunity to make something, but that wasn’t true freedom. True freedom is to make it, own it, and build a legacy from it,” tweeted one person.
Ryan Coogler sets the record straight about his deal
“I think that a lot has been made of my deal in particular. I’m not totally sure why,” he told Democracy Now! in an interview on Friday (April 25). Moreover, the Black Panther visionary explained, “I’ve been in the industry long enough to know what kind of deals are possible, and nothing about this deal is a new thing… This film was very important to me. As a writer-director… it’s taken a lot of time, commitment, energy, and I’ve missed out on a lot of things in my life, making films that will always be owned by other people. For this one, because it was so personal, and because I had the ability to negotiate, I asked for a few things that were very important to me for this project, you know, and for what it was about and what it meant to me and my family.”
Studio executives are proud of Sinners’ success and their deal with Coogler
“We kind of knew we had the goods just in terms of having watched the director’s cut, but to have the audience validate that — that’s really what’s giving us the most joy,” Michael De Luca, co-chair and CEO of Warner Bros., told The Hollywood Reporter. The high-ranking executive continued, “We’re also happy that as an original swing, it’s worked out and we hope it inspires the other studios to take more original swings because that’s how you get new franchises and keep the industry refreshed."
De Luca also took aim at editorials that villainized the business arrangement. “They talked about this as an existential threat to the industry. I mean, it’s so ignorant and laughable,” he expressed. “Of course, it’s not a make-or-break thing for any studio or the industry. It was a competitive situation," he said. His remarks also included acknowledgment of how Sinners is more than just a film for consumption: "Ryan himself went on the record saying he was going to get it from somebody else, and he made a pretty effective case for this movie, especially with its themes of Black ownership. This is very important and personal to him, and frankly, we’re proud to be able to give it to Ryan."