‘Sinners' Movie Proves (Once Again) What Consumers Really Want

Forbes

30-04-2025

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 03: (L-R) Li Jun Li, Jayme Lawson, Hailee Steinfeld, Delroy Lindo, ... More Michael B. Jordan, Wunmi Mosaku, Omar Benson Miller, Ryan Coogler, Miles Caton and Jack O'Connell attend the Warner Bros Pictures "Sinners" New York Premiere at AMC Lincoln Square Theater on April 03, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by)
Ryan Coogler's latest movie 'Sinners,' continues to dominate the box office and be a hot topic on social media as well. In it's opening weekend, the film earned $48 million domestically, which was the most successful for any original film this decade. In it's second weekend, the movies only had a 6% drop in sales, in comparison to drops that are typically in the range of 40-50% in the second weekend.
Thus far, this horror movie has already grossed $161 million worldwide.
Among the many fans praising the film and providing commentary on social media and Reddit, were acclaimed actors Tom Cruise and Kevin Bacon.
With all the chatter and accolades for the film, it is important to highlight the bigger implications of the films success.
Representation has long been a topic of discussion in both media and marketing, as consumers continue to express their desire for more of it. One research study showed that 76% of consumers said representation in marketing is important for the brands they engage with and buy from.
With Sinners' predominantly Black cast and Black director, fans who are part of the Black community went out in a larger percentage of numbers.
This isn't just the case for Sinners'. The same thing happened when a predominantly Black cast and director were introduced into the Marvel Universe with Black Panther. The film shattered records and as of 2018 when it was released, it was the highest grossing super hero film of all time in the U.S.
Black Panther was the first Marvel Movie I ever saw, and I went with a delegation of about twenty other Black expats while I was living in Argentina. We all even dressed up for the occasion.
But representation isn't just important to the Black community. Other underrepresented and underserved communities showed up to the box office in large numbers when there were casts were predominantly from their culture.
Crazy Rich Asians which featured a predominantly Asian cast and director and was released in 2018 was the highest grossing romantic comedy of the decade. And Coco, a movied produced by Disney Pixar and featured an all Latino cast, was at the time the highest grossing film of all-time in Mexico (beating out Avengers), and won two Academy awards.
Another common misconception that often prevents brands from engaging in making their marketing more inclusive is the notion that if you feature more people from under reperesented and underserved communities, you'll limit your reach.
The thought behind that belief, is that if people who aren't Black, Asian, or who have a disability see people who are Black, Asian, or people with disabilities in an ad, media, or film, they will feel like it 'isn't for them' and won't engage.
But that notion isn't true, and the success of Sinners' and other movies mentioned in the previous section prove that's the case. While the Black community has turned out in high numbers to see the Sinners' film, the film wouldn't have achieved the success it has if that community was the only people going to see it. The film has had broad appeal with a broad diversity of audiences. That's not just true in the U.S., but worldwide also.
Showcasing talent from underrepresented and underserved communities does not niche your content to only be relevant to those communities. There are plenty of examples of talent in both media and brand campaigns where talent from underrepresented and underserved communities have had mass appeal and often headline general market campaigns. Here's one from Amazon Alexa.
Some brands even understand the social appeal of this talent, and have made 'niche consumers" their lead consumer. They do this because they know, the representation will be important to convert people from underrepresented and underserved communities, and the appeal of the talent can also convert the masses as well.
Representation and matters. But not all representation is created equal. One of the things consumers have said many times is their desire for characters who are like them, and that move away from traditional stereotypes and tropes. Consumers, particularly those from underrepresented and underserved communities want to see more main character energy from the talent brands and filmmakers put forth.
One of the remarkable aspects of the Sinners' movies, is that it is an original story, a departure from the remakes and adaptations that plague Hollywood of late. And through this original story, there are a number of different characters that have a degree of depth to them, that fans have been compelled to take to social media to process, share notes, and provide commentary.
When you give people, especially those from under represented and underserved communities the kinds of characters and storylines they crave, they will help promote your product for you. The amount of earned media you'll gain will skyrocket.
The Sinners' movie, like other standouts before it, showcased that if you give consumers what they want, especially the ones most brands crave, they will reward you for it handsomely.