Ryan Coogler has been very open about who lit the fuse on his IMAX obsession, and it tracks: Christopher Nolan. Coogler says one late-night screening of The Dark Knight back in 2008 changed how he watches movies, and you can feel that influence all over Sinners, right down to the end credits.
It started at 4 a.m. with The Dark Knight
In a Proximity Media interview, Coogler says his IMAX era began the first night The Dark Knight opened in summer 2008, when he caught a 4:00 a.m. show. Remember those kinds of rollouts? Since then, he’s made a habit of showing up Day One for IMAX releases, especially Nolan’s. He’s seen a lot of big-format films, but that first Nolan hit still sets the bar for him.
A clip of him saying as much made the rounds on January 8, 2026, courtesy of @TheCinesthetic, with Coogler noting that The Dark Knight was actually the first IMAX movie he ever saw.
Sinners uses IMAX like a scalpel, not a sledgehammer
Sinners was shot on 65mm for IMAX and doesn’t fling ratio switches at you every other scene. The shifts are restrained and land at carefully chosen moments, which gives the movie some genuinely stunning frames on the big screen. It’s the kind of measured, confident use of the format that suggests Coogler has studied what works in Nolan’s films and adapted it to his own vibe.
Nolan and Emma Thomas were the first call
When Coogler decided to shoot Sinners for IMAX, he reached out to Christopher Nolan and producer Emma Thomas for guidance. Their practical advice cut through the tech mystique:
"Treat it like a Super 8 camera."
In other words, don’t bow down to the gear. Make the movie the way you normally would, even if the camera is a rare beast people don’t use every day. It’s the kind of nerdy filmmaking tip that sounds deceptively simple and ends up steering the whole production.
That Nolan thank-you in the credits (and, yes, Puss in Boots)
If you stayed through the Sinners credits, you saw it: a special thanks to Christopher Nolan. That nod is for the behind-the-scenes advice he and Emma Thomas gave Coogler on shooting 65mm for IMAX. The other surprise in there is delightful and very real: Coogler also cites Puss in Boots: The Last Wish as a major inspiration. Not a joke. The influence list contains multitudes.
The theater-crowd high he’s chasing
During the film’s trailer rollout, Coogler told THR the movie is basically his love letter to that electric feeling of watching something thrilling in a packed theater full of strangers. If you’ve ever been in a wall-to-wall IMAX crowd on opening weekend, you know exactly what he’s talking about.
Coogler on Nolan: mentor, taste-maker, family-team filmmaker
While promoting Sinners, Coogler swung by the Criterion Closet (posted June 13, 2025) and pulled Nolan’s debut Following off the shelf. He talked about how Nolan’s work has changed the game, and how getting to know Nolan and Emma Thomas has only reinforced his admiration: they’re movie people who operate like a family and make the world richer by doing what they do. Coogler has flat-out called Nolan a mentor, and you can see why. He even pointed out how many signature Nolan moves are already baked into Following.
- Summer 2008: Coogler sees The Dark Knight in IMAX at 4:00 a.m. on opening night; becomes a Day One IMAX die-hard.
- January 8, 2026: A clip circulates noting The Dark Knight was his first IMAX movie and still the high-water mark.
- Sinners: Shot on 65mm, uses IMAX ratio shifts sparingly and for impact.
- Nolan/Emma Thomas: First call for advice on shooting in the format; key note was to keep it simple and shoot like normal.
- End credits: Special thanks to Nolan; unexpected shout-out to Puss in Boots: The Last Wish as a major inspiration.
- Trailer press: Coogler frames Sinners as a tribute to the packed-theater adrenaline rush.
- June 13, 2025: Criterion Closet video where Coogler picks Nolan’s Following and explains why Nolan’s been a guiding influence.
- Now streaming: Sinners is on HBO Max and Prime Video.
Bottom line: Coogler’s not just name-dropping. The Nolan connection runs from that 4 a.m. Batman screening to the way Sinners was shot, cut, and even credited. And if you’re wondering whether that big-screen energy translates at home, Sinners is already up on HBO Max and Prime Video, so you can find out.