Ryan Coogler's horror movie, Sinners, has been one of the hottest topics of the 2025 release schedule. Everyone seems to be raving about it, as Coogler's latest has been a hit with critics and has made a ton of money. Coogler has especially benefitted, as he scored an amazing deal that lets him keep the rights to his film. Now, as it turns out, Tyler Perry -- the groundbreaking Black director -- was also involved in helping the Black Panther filmmaker with this major deal. With that, Perry's sharing how he did it.
Tyler Perry made the revelation during the dinner conversation series, Den of Kings, which is hosted by award-winning gospel artist Kirk Franklin. It turns out Perry opted to provide some support to the Fruitvale Station helmer. In the conversation, Perry explained:
When this deal with Ryan Coogler – everybody’s talking about the Sinners deal. ‘Oh my god, he’s got this amazing deal.’ Listen, I called that brother up, as I did a lot of them, I called him up after Black Panther, and I said, ‘Listen, here is how you do it.’ The deal that he has – my first movie, it’ll be 20 years this year from Diary of a Mad Black Woman. I called him up and said, ‘Here is how you do that deal.’
According to Business Insider, in 2024, Sinners sparked a major bidding war between studios. Whichever studio won the bid to work with Coogler had to agree to his specific conditions, like his getting first-dollar gross points, having final cut, and owning the movie completely after 25 years. Warner Bros. stepped up and agreed to everything. It was a pretty impressive deal, and Perry had some complimentary sentiments to share about it, adding:
To see that they were able to pull it off, I applaud it, man. I’m excited for him because that’s what it’s about, holding onto the ownership.
It makes sense that Tyler Perry would want to reach out to his fellow filmmaker on this particular subject. Perry has long been a proponent of ownership amongst Black creatives, and that's been important to his work. Early in his career, he was adamant about owning the rights to his film and TV properties, especially the Madea franchise
I Rewatched Sinners, And I Think I Figured Out Why I Didn't Love It As Much The First Time
For Ryan Coogler specifically, having the rights to his film wasn’t just a power play. He actually mentioned to Business Insider that asking for ownership was more about what it meant to him personally. The movie, set in Jim Crow America, explores themes of Black ownership before vampires are introduced later in the story in what some might consider misleading marketing. So, for the young director, owning a movie that highlights Black ownership was particularly meaningful to him.
Since the release of his latest movie, Coogler has revealed that the film was partly inspired by his grandfather, whom he never knew, and who was from Mississippi. Coogler's uncle, who passed away in 2015, was also an inspiration. Considering those personal ties, it’s pretty meaningful for this to be the first feature film he actually owns.
Just like Tyler Perry, this is something that horror fans and anyone who loves new stories in cinema should wholeheartedly support. Also, since Sinners has become such a major success, I, for one, eagerly anticipate what Coogler will create next.
If you’ve somehow managed to miss Sinners while it was in theaters, it's available to stream with an HBO Max subscription. Also, for you horror fans out there, be sure to read up on upcoming horror movies to see what's headed to theaters soon.
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