Can Sinners Finally Dethrone the Highest-Grossing Original Live-Action Movie of Our Time?

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Ryan Coogler’s film, titled “Sinners“, is picking up significant traction at the box office. Although it’s an original live-action R-rated horror movie, “Sinners” is generating genuine excitement among critics, cinephiles, and casual cinema-goers. The forecast for this vampire-themed film suggests robust earnings, raising anticipation about how well this Coogler production will perform at the worldwide box office. If it performs exceptionally well, it could encourage Hollywood to take more risks on expensive original productions in the future.

Regardless of how successful the movie “Sinners” becomes, it’s highly improbable for it to unseat the highest-grossing original live-action film worldwide in the contemporary film industry (meaning released after January 1, 2010). This isn’t a criticism of “Sinners”; rather, no new movie should be burdened with the task of ousting that specific box office champion. Interestingly, the record is held by a film that didn’t get a full theatrical release in America.

Meet Hi, Mom, The Biggest Movie You’ve Never Heard Of

In terms of live-action films released after “Avatar” and not adapted from any prior material (such as books, historical events, or bands), the current box office leader is the 2021 film “Hi, Mom,” directed by Jia Ling. This comedy features a unique blend of time travel humor as a woman travels back in time to meet her younger mother, resulting in emotional yet zany escapades. Hailing from the Chinese cinema industry, “Hi, Mom” earned an astounding $838.41 million in China and approximately $600,000 from other regions, totaling a worldwide box office of $839.09 million.

Even blockbusters released after 2010, such as “Interstellar” or “Ted”, couldn’t match the financial success of “Hi, Mom”. This film had an advantage due to its release during the lucrative Chinese New Year period in its home country. Moreover, its continued strong performance in the weeks following its premiere can be attributed to positive word-of-mouth. Audiences who saw “Hi, Mom” wanted to share the experience with others, which proved more beneficial for this comedy than any established intellectual property or brand name could ever hope to be.

To start with, the film titled “Hi, Mom” achieved remarkable success at the box office in its native land, even surpassing most films by securing the second-highest gross ever, trailing only Wolf Warriors 2 from 2017. What’s more intriguing is that this movie premiered approximately a year after movie theaters closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, an original film achieving such impressive earnings wasn’t just a tough act for subsequent original films like “Sinners” to follow – it also demonstrated that audiences are still eager to attend the theater for unique, original content. Even amid the COVID crisis, it appears the public’s craving for high-quality, original cinema remains undiminished.

The Other Highest-Grossing Original Movies

Financially, “Hi, Mom” surpassed all others by becoming the biggest live-action feature film not derived from a pre-existing source, surpassing Christopher Nolan’s “Inception” (2010) which had earned an impressive $826.87 million worldwide. With Hollywood heavily investing in franchise films during the 2010s, many believed that “Inception’s” record would stand for eternity. However, “Hi, Mom” managed to break new ground at the global box office, setting new standards for heist and Leonardo DiCaprio-led films.

After 2010, there are very few original film hits, so you have to look quite far down the list of all-time highest grossing films globally to find another one released post-2009. Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity, which made $684.65 million in 2013, is another significant success that didn’t rely on a well-known franchise to attract audiences. Similarly, both Interstellar and Hancock managed to earn over $624 million worldwide, with their directors Christopher Nolan and Will Smith serving as brand names, helping draw crowds to the theater. To date, these are almost all of the post-Avatar original live-action movies that have grossed more than $600 million globally.

A film like “Sinners” doesn’t have to earn as much money as “Hi, Mom” or reach the box office success of a movie like “Interstellar” to be considered successful. The earnings of “Sinners” should be evaluated based on its own performance rather than being compared to anomalies like “Hi, Mom”. Unfortunately, the fact that “Sinners” has few contemporaries among original live-action box office blockbusters highlights how heavily Hollywood has come to lean on established franchises over the past 15 years. Movies such as “Inception” become more scarce when Hollywood doesn’t produce many original blockbusters like “Sinners” as frequently.

Sinners is not in theaters, IMAX, or 70mm.

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2025-04-17 21:42