Where was Sinners (2025) filmed?

Sinners is the fifth collaboration between writer-director Ryan Coogler (pictured in 2025), actor Michael B. Jordan (2019), and composer Ludwig Göransson (2018), who all received academy awards for their work on the film.

In January 2024, an untitled period film from writer, director and producer Ryan Coogler was reported to be in development through his production company Proximity Media, with longtime collaborator Michael B. Jordan cast in the lead role. Sony Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, and Universal Pictures were in a bidding war to acquire the distribution rights to the film, which carried a budget of around $90 million. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. greenlit the film with a production budget of $80 million, but the final budget climbed to $100 million. In exchange for the distribution rights to the film, Coogler was asking studios for first-dollar gross, final cut privilege, and ownership of the film twenty-five years after its release. The following month, Warner Bros. won the distribution rights to the film by acceding to Coogler's terms.

In April 2024, Jack O'Connell was cast as the film's villain. Delroy Lindo, Jayme Lawson, Omar Benson Miller, Hailee Steinfeld, Li Jun Li and Lola Kirke were cast in undisclosed roles. Wunmi Mosaku was cast as Smoke's love interest. Yao, Miles Caton, Peter Dreimanis, and Christian Robinson were added the next month. Halsey would audition for the role that went to Steinfeld. Machine Gun Kelly was offered the opportunity to audition for the role that went to Peter Dreimanis, but declined because he was not comfortable saying "nigger".

Principal photography began in New Orleans on April 14, 2024, under the working title Grilled Cheese, and wrapped on July 17. It was shot by cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw on 65 mm film using a combination of IMAX 15-perf and Ultra Panavision 70 cameras and scenes thus alternate between the 1.43:1 and 2.76:1 aspect ratios. In shooting this movie, Arkapaw became the first female director of photography to shoot any movie on large format IMAX film. Kodak created a 65mm version of their Ektachrome 100D 5294 film stock specifically for the production, where it was used for a flashback sequence. The production spent $67.6 million on-location in Louisiana. The film's allocated budget was reported to have ultimately risen to around $100 million. The film's production designer Hannah Beachler acknowledged that the way the church in the film was designed included crossed beams that made the "Wakanda Forever" gesture and paid homage to the late Chadwick Boseman, star of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Black Panther (2018). Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), Storm Studios, Rising Sun Pictures, Base FX, Baraboom Studios, Light VFX and Outpost VFX provided the film's visual effects. Some of the film's costumes were originally designed by Ruth E. Carter for the planned MCU film Blade, but when production on it stalled, Carter was approached by Coogler to work on his film. Given both films' shared time period and similar settings within the Prohibition era, Carter was able to reuse her research for Sinners and was allowed by Marvel Studios to buy costumes she made originally for Blade to be used on Sinners. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said the studio no longer needed the costumes after deciding to move Blade from a period setting, so they were happy for Carter to use them on Coogler's film.

Influences

Coogler cited the films of Quentin Tarantino, Jordan Peele, Christopher Nolan (who is given an on-screen special thanks credit), Francis Ford Coppola, Brian De Palma, Spike Lee and the Metallica song "One" as sources of inspiration. He stated that Robert Rodriguez was a filmmaker he idolized growing up and took inspiration from two of his films in particular when coming up with the idea for Sinners: From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) and The Faculty (1998). Coogler also cited an array of other films as influences, including the Coen Brothers' No Country for Old Men (2007), Inside Llewyn Davis (2013), and Fargo (1996), as well as John Carpenter's The Thing (1982). He also noted that the Disney Channel Original Movie The Luck of the Irish (2001) was a major influence. Another key influence for the filmmaker was Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone (1959–1964), with his favorite episode being "The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank". The biggest non-cinematic influence was Stephen King's novel 'Salem's Lot (1975).

Themes

Coogler spoke about the parallels drawn in the film between African Americans, the Irish, and the Choctaw, noting the historical intermingling of these cultures and its influence on their musical traditions. He cited Delta blues musician Charley Patton, who Coogler says was "likely part Choctaw," mentioned as the original owner of the guitar played by Sammie.

Armenian-American film producer Sev Ohanian observes that the film is personal, rooted in Coogler's own heritage and cultural identity. He noted that Coogler drew heavily from his family history and musical passions, even describing the screenwriting process as a spiritual experience where he felt guided by the presence of his ancestors.

Coogler also said that the character of Remmick, who is Irish, identifies with the black characters because of "the connection between what we experienced – we being African Americans… forcibly removed from the continent of Africa… and the experience of the Irish people being forced to work land that has immeasurable abundance and wealth, but being denied that. So I mean, the connections between the two cultures are really obvious to spot."