Ben Stiller, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Defend ‘Sinners’ Amid Conversation About Its Box Office Success

In an Twitter post that has now gone viral, actor Ben Stiller called out a critical headline about Sinners' performance at the box office.

via: Complex

Ben Stiller and Patrick Schwarzenegger are just some of the notable names that pushed back against Variety after the entertainment outlet posted a tweet that appeared to minimize the opening weekend box office success of Ryan Coogler’s Sinners

“Sinners has amassed $61 million in its global debut,” the outlet tweeted alongside a link to an article about the weekend's box office results.

“It's a great result for an original, R-rated horror film, yet the Warner Bros. release has a $90 million price tag before global marketing expenses, so profitability remains a ways away.”

It didn't take long for people to begin pushing back against the framing of the tweet, with Stiller being among the more boldface of names to do so.

“In what universe does a 60 million dollar opening for an original studio movie warrant this headline?” he tweeted in response to Variety.

Schwarzenegger also responded to Variety’s tweet, writing, “It’s opening weekend …”

Other notable names called out the outlet, with some, including The Black List's Franklin Leonard pointing out that Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood made less money in its opening weekend, but was still considered a hit.

Other people insinuated that the framing of the tweet was racially coded. "Variety saw a black director doing well and said not on my watch," one person tweeted, as seen below.

According to Variety, Sinners amassed $63.5 million at the global box office. The outlet reports that it cost Warner Bros. $90 million to make. It's domestic opening was the biggest since Jordan Peele’s Us debuted with $71 million way back in 2019.

Directed, written, and co-produced by Coogler, Sinners is set in 1932 in the Mississippi Delta, where twin brothers, Elijah "Smoke" Moore and Elias "Stack" Moore (Jordan) return to their hometown to start fresh, but end up encountering supernatural forces.

The film also stars Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Jack O'Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Miller, Li Jun Li, Buddy Guy, and Delroy Lindo.