Marvel Boss Kevin Feige Says Ryan Coogler’s Sinners Should Win Best Picture — Here’s Why
Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige is throwing his weight behind Ryan Coogler’s Sinners for Best Picture, and with a Black Panther Best Picture nod and two blockbuster collaborations under his belt, he argues it deserves the top prize.
Kevin Feige is out here stumping for Ryan Coogler. The Marvel Studios boss says Coogler's Sinners should take Best Picture, and he is not being coy about why.
Feige's pitch for Sinners
Feige and Coogler go way back. Feige produced Coogler's two Marvel runs — 2018's Black Panther and 2022's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever — and even scored a Best Picture nomination for Black Panther, the first time a superhero movie cracked that lineup. Now Coogler is back with Sinners, which landed a record 16 Oscar nominations this year and, if it wins, would make it only the second horror movie to take the top prize.
"The music was incredibly meaningful to me, and I told Ryan that my jaw was on the floor. It should win best picture for that alone."
"The Academy doesn't always, in my opinion, recognize the movies that are most relevant for audiences today. But, boy, did they hit it with this one."
What Sinners is actually about
Michael B. Jordan pulls double duty as Smoke and Stack, twin brothers who head back to the Mississippi Delta to open a juke joint. Opening night turns into the party everyone will be talking about… right up until an Irish vampire named Remmick (Jack O'Connell) walks in and flips the whole place into a fight for survival. It's a wild swing of a premise that Coogler treats like a midnight movie with prestige polish — the sort of hybrid you do not see every awards season.
- Cast: Michael B. Jordan (as twins Smoke and Stack), Jack O'Connell (Remmick), Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Benson Miller, Delroy Lindo
- Written and directed by Ryan Coogler; produced by Coogler, Zinzi Coogler, and Sev Ohanian
- Released April 2025; grossed $368 million worldwide on a budget estimated between $90–100 million
- Record-setting 16 Oscar nominations; Coogler nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay
So what happens next?
Coogler plans to circle back to the MCU for Black Panther 3. Before that, he is expected to finish his reboot of The X-Files. In the meantime, Feige has planted his flag in the Sinners camp. Hard to argue with the guy when the movie plays like a hit, looks like a hit, and has a trophy count to match.