Tyler Perry Helped Ryan Coogler Secure A Game-Changing Deal For ‘Sinners’ That Will Pay Off For Generations
Tyler Perry played a hand in Ryan Coogler securing a groundbreaking deal.
Award-winning director Coogler released “Sinners” in theaters on April 18. According to Forbes, the horror film, which had a $90 million production budget and featured Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, and Miles Caton, garnered $365.9 million worldwide. The film marked a reset for Coogler, who previously worked on sequels for “Black Panther” and “Creed.”
Beyond the plot and visual storytelling of “Sinners,” Coogler also made headlines for the business deal he secured for the film with Warner Bros. The New York Times reports he was given a portion of gross ticket sales before the studio takes its cut, an arrangement that was more common in the past for prominent stars and directors. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Coogler will also secure final cut rights (removing the studio’s final say in certain editing and directing choices) as well as full ownership of the film in 25 years. Additionally, he earned a percentage of “Sinners’” box office return immediately when it was released. The deal could reportedly earn Coogler millions for generations in the future.
What’s more, Perry reportedly played a key role in encouraging Coogler to take this approach with his film. Perry himself owns the intellectual property of his projects, which include over 1,200 episodes of television, 22 feature films, and at least 24 stage plays, per BET.
“Everybody’s talking about the ‘Sinners’ deal. He 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,’” Perry shared on the “Den of Kings” podcast. “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.’ And to see that they were able to pull it off. I applaud him, man. I’m excited for him because that’s what it’s about. Holding on to the ownership.”
