Ten years ago, director Ryan Coogler was deep in debt. He owed nearly $200,000 in student loan debt, and barely making it in Hollywood. Today, his latest film “Sinners” is dominating the box office, proving that a struggling start doesn’t have to define the journey.
Money Owed, Money Made
“Sinners” is far from is first hit film, but it took some time for him to earn his first million. Before “Black Panther” made him a household name and “Sinners” became a surprise hit, Coogler was living on little and worrying about student loan repayments.
“I was 200 grand in debt for film school. It was bad,” he recently said on the “WTF with Marc Maron” podcast. “We don’t come from no money.” He added honestly, “I wasn’t making no money.”
In 2015, while filming “Creed” — the “Rocky” spinoff starring Michael B. Jordan — Coogler had already made waves with his powerful debut film “Fruitvale Station,” also starring Jordan, but financial security was still out of reach. “Creed” went on to gross $42.6 million its opening weekend, but the burden of loans from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts still loomed large. Then the mega hit “Black Panther” in 2018 solidly made Coogler a major Hollywood player— plus much richer. He followed up with “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” in 2022.
Fast-forward to 2025, and Coogler’s vampire thriller “Sinners” is redefining what an original genre film can do. The film earned $93 million globally on its opening weekend and added another $45 million in its second, something rare for a horror film. So far, it has grossed over $160 million worldwide.
What makes “Sinners” especially groundbreaking isn’t just its box office win, it’s also the ownership structure behind it. According to Vulture, Coogler negotiated a rare deal to own the rights to “Sinners” after 25 years. That means future royalties from streaming, broadcasts, and merchandise will go directly to him, not just the studio, Warner Bros. Pictures.
“That was the only motivation,” he told Business Insider, referencing the ownership deal, since it was he who came up with the idea for the film.
The film’s plot is about brothers (both played by Jordan) fighting over ownership of a juke joint in Jim Crow-era Mississippi. Then, there’s the vampire twist.
Coogler”s net worth is now estimated at $25 million.
