Ben Stiller & X Call Out ‘Variety’ For Shady ‘Sinners” Coverage Following Successful Weekend At The Box Office
Written by djfrosty on April 22, 2025
Source: Getty Images / Ben Stiller / Sinners
Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan’s Sinners is without a doubt a hit, but based on a post from Variety, you would think otherwise, and Ben Stiller and everyone else on X see the jig.
Coogler’s 1930’s vampire flick that stars Jordan as two twins, Smoke and Stack, that return home to open up a juke joint, only to encounter a pack of blood sucking gouls took a significant bite out of the box office during its opening weekend, earning an impressive $61 million and dethroning A Minecraft Movie.
Variety, the well-established publication that reports on all things Hollywood, dropped a shady post on X, speaking about the film’s success, while also pointing out itit’still short of breaking even and returning a profit for the studio.
The tweet (yes, we still call them that) is hilariously still up and it reads:
“Sinners” has amassed $61 million in its global debut. It’s 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.”
Ben Stiller Was Not Feeling Variety’s Shade Towards Sinners
The post, which was also slapped with a well-timed community note calling Variety’s headline misleading, sparked plenty of outrage, with some of Hollywood’s biggest names like Ben Stiller coming to the defense of the hit film.
In a quote reply, Stiller wrote, “In what universe does a 60 million dollar opening for an original studio movie warrant this headline?”
Patrick Schwarzenegger (The White Lotus) also chimed in on the matter, reminding folks that “It’s opening weekend…”
“I wonder if @variety covered Once Upon A Time in Hollywood – which made 10% less at the domestic box office on 10% more theaters prepandemic and at the same budget with a similar deal structure – in the same way,” Franklin Leonard, a film producer and creator of The Black List said on X.
The rest of the world who have been praising the film after seeing it in theaters have also been sounding off on Variety. You can see those reactions in the gallery below.