Ben Stiller and Patrick Schwarzenegger SLAMMED for sensitive reactions to box office numbers amid industry panic
Ben Stiller and Patrick Schwarzenegger are under fire for their sensitive reactions to a critical headline that cast doubt on the opening weekend success of Sinners.
On Sunday, Variety, the publication known as the 'trade bible' in Hollywood, tweeted that 'profitability remains a ways away' for the new horror film, starring Michael B. Jordan and Hailee Steinfeld, despite it amassing $61 million in its global debut.
This sparked an outcry among a number of Hollywood stars, who took to X to defend the movie, written, co-produced and directed by Ryan Coogler, against the criticism.
'In what universe does a 60 million dollar opening for an original studio movie warrant this headline?' Stiller, 59, asked on X, alongside Variety's tweet.
Schwarzenegger opted to use his platform to remind the world and those in the industry that Sinners was just released on Friday, April 18.
'It's opening weekend...,' he tweeted, implying that it was too premature to know the film's profitability.
Ben Stiller (seen in 2025) and Patrick Schwarzenegger are under fire for their sensitive reactions to a critical headline that cast doubt on the opening weekend success of Sinners
American film producer, Franklin Leonard, even posted out the starkly different coverage of Quentin Tarantino's 2019 hit, Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, and Sinners.
'A tale of two movies: Similar deal structures. Similar budgets. One made $45M from 3300 screens, post pandemic, and won the weekend. The other made $41M from 3600 screens pre-pandemic, and placed second. And yet this is the coverage,' he tweeted.
Leonard went on to provide two headlines from the New York Times, one that described Sinners as a 'box office success (with a big asterisk)' and another declaring Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood a 'box-office hit for Tarantino.'
Meanwhile, Filmmaker, Joe Russo, snarkily, tweeted: 'Variety: 'WHY DIDN'T THE MOVIE MAKE ALL ITS BUDGET BACK IN THREE DAYS''
Under Stiller's tweet, many X users pointed out that all Variety was trying to say was the film 'might barely break even' due to its '$90M price tag before global marketing expenses.'
'Seems like a valid headline. This is a business not unicef,' another replied.
A second X user responded: 'I hope it does well, too, but this is quite literally the most common headline imaginable for any high-budget film that opens to 1/3 of what it needs to just break even.'
Another critic defended Variety as they pointed out to Stiller that the outlet was 'literally' just saying they spent an 'eye-popping $90 million price tag before global marketing expenses, so profitability remains a ways away.'
Others questioned why Variety 'would expect to make a profit immediately after launching a product.'
Following the backlash over the tweet, on Monday, Variety tweeted a new article, titled: '5 Reasons Why Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan's 'Sinners' Ruled the Box Office.'
Underneath the post, Sinners defenders trolled the account and pressed for an apology for their prior article.
'This isn't good enough you need to issue an apology,' one wrote.
A second replied: 'Y'all need to just apologize for the original headline instead of backtracking this. Acknowledge what you did!'
'The switch-up is insane,' a third scoffed.
Over the weekend, the horror/adventure move garnered $45.6 million in North American theaters, studio officials said, according to the AP.
The Warner Bros. movie came with a price tag estimated at $90 million for Coogler, whose past credits include Black Panther and Creed.
Coogler's deal awarding him a percentage of gross ticket sales - and ownership of the film following a 25-year span - has started a 'very dangerous' precedent, rival studio execs told Vulture.
The execs said that the business arrangement 'could be the end of the studio system' as creatives are financially enriched at a level like never before.
The innovative business arrangement over the Warner Bros. film with Kugler has executives 'sweating' over the precedent it sets, studio insiders told Vulture.
The script for the motion picture had garner a high level of interest when it initially hit the market in late 2023 and began generating bids in January 2024.
The film's commercial viability was also buoyed by the presence of Jordan and Coogler, who past collaborated on the on 2018 Marvel hit Black Panther, which garnered $1.4 billion in box office revenues worldwide.
The motion picture, which is set in 1932, was centered around twins Smoke and Stack, who run a business in Mississippi.
The movie also Miles Caton, Saul Williams, Andrene Ward-Hammond, Jack O'Connell, Tenaj L. Jackson, David Maldonado, Percy Bell and Aadyn Encalarde.
The film, which was well-received by critics, was screened at 3,308 North American theaters, Variety reported Sunday.
'This is an excellent opening for a period horror film,' FranchiseRe consultant David A. Gross told the outlet. 'It should have a good run now.'
Gross said that the money invested in the motion picture 'is going to cast a long shadow and set a high bar to profitability.'
Imax CEO Rich Gelfond told Variety of collaborating with Coogler on the movie: 'It's been an awesome ride partnering with Ryan on this highly acclaimed, magnificently shot film. We couldn't be happier that Imax played a part in a successful opening for Sinners.'
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