Director Ryan Coogler fulfilled his obligations by directing Black Panther: Wakanda Forever for Marvel and Disney a couple of years ago. The movie emerged as one of the franchise’s rare commercial hits at a time when its grip over the box office appeared to be slipping. This week, Coogler is set to release Sinners, his first original film since his debut feature, Fruitvale Station. Warner Bros. appears to have tremendous faith in the movie, having lifted the embargo on reviews unusually early. The ecstatic reception is expected to translate into tremendous results at the box office this weekend, with the movie eying $45 million across its first three days of release domestically.

Original movies rarely open to these numbers, but this is an indication of the goodwill Coogler has built up over the years, having delivered banger after banger. Sinners debuted with a perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes score, which has now...