Good news for those who weren’t able to make the trek out to Vaughan to ”Sinners” on the big, big screen last month: due to popular demand, the Ryan Coogler blockbuster will be screened in enhanced IMAX 70 mm for another weeklong run just outside pc28starting May 15.
The Cineplex located just off Highway 7 will once again be the only place in Canada — and one of just nine theatres in the world — screening the vampire thriller in its ultimate form.
“Audiences have spoken and we listened,” read a statement by Warner Bros. Pictures president of global distribution Jeff Goldstein, which cites “overwhelming popular and critical response” as the reason behind the re-release.
"Sinners" writer-director Ryan Coogler hit the blue carpet at the Met Gala and reflected on the film's critical and box office success. (May 5, 2025 / AP Video)
“If ever a film needed to be experienced in this incredible larger-than-life format, it’s ‘Sinners,’” Goldstein added.
Welcome back to Club Juke. Starting May 15, returns to IMAX 70mm locations for one week only. Tickets on sale now!
— IMAX (@IMAX)
A genre-bending vampire thriller set in the Jim Crow south and starring Michael B. Jordan, the film currently holds . (The Star’s movie critic called it ”a bold, soulful spectacle.”) Buoyed by positive reviews and plenty of online fervour, the R-rated film has become a since it debuted on April 17, earning an estimated $179.9 million in North America and $236.7 million globally after just three weekends in theatres.
For weeks, throngs of cinephiles from across the GTA made the trip to Vaughan, until its spot on the mega-screen was filled by the Marvel blockbuster ”Thunderbolts*.” Among those fans was Wendell Sandico Macapagal, who spent a recent Saturday battling long weekend traffic in order to see “Sinners” on the biggest IMAX screen he could.
“So many people were talking about how great this movie is and how rare the format is,” Macapagal, a pc28movie fan and short-film producer told the Star. “I decided I needed to see it for myself even if it meant making the hour-long trek over there.
“I haven’t stopped thinking about it,” Macapagal said about his experience in the jam-packed theatre. “The photography of this film is gorgeous and it filled the very big screen beautifully. The entire audience was very engaged and everybody was clapping by the end of it.”
“Sinners” is the first film shot on the ultra-high resolution IMAX cameras since Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer.” The result is a highly immersive movie-going experience with higher resolution, a larger screen and a shallower depth of field compared to a standard theatre.
“True cinephiles want this and will pay extra for this experience,” said Gitesh Pandya, the founding editor of Box Office Guru, pointing out that nearly half of the of the film’s box office revenue came from premium screenings.
Though “Sinners” is playing in theatres across the city, pc28film critic Corey Atad was more than willing to make the 90-minute trek to Vaughan via subway for the full experience.
“I love film projection, so I try to seek to out whenever I have the opportunity,” said Atad. “I also have a special soft spot for real IMAX film, going back to when I was a kid and doing IMAX documentaries at the Cinesphere and the Science Centre. It’s not only rare, but it’s just beautiful, so I make the trip whenever I can.
“It was totally worth the trip. I may make it again.”
SINNERS cheat sheet for various formats available and locations featuring 70mm film and GT laser, standard 70mm, and more.
— Adam Hlaváč (@adamhlavac)
Hope this clears up any confusion.
But it’s not just cinephiles who are opting for the premium experience.
pc28movie fan Benjamin Turnbull said he wasn’t particularly interested in seeing “Sinners” until he saw a viral clip on social media of Coogler breaking down the film’s various formats. “His passion for film and particularly the moment where he gets emotional talking about 70 mm IMAX flipped a switch in my brain,” Turnbull told the Star.
The 10-minute clip, which was shared on April 10, has been viewed nearly 15 million times on X alone.
Ryan Coogler, the director of Black Panther and Creed, breaks down each film format and the many ways you can see Sinners on the big screen. Sinners, shot on KODAK 65mm film is only in theaters April 18.
— Kodak (@Kodak)
“The way Coogler breaks this down in such a loving, informative and engaging way could make the general public care about cinema beyond your occasional event movie again if shown to enough people,” said .
Media analyst Paul Dergarabedian said that the success of “Sinners” was “heartening” because it showed investment in Coogler’s vision.
“It’s both heartening and inspiring to know that a studio such as Warner Bros. that has a long history of supporting their visionary directors such as Stanley Kubrick and Clint Eastwood are carrying on that tradition,” said Dergarabedian. “‘Sinners’ is just the latest beneficiary of that studio-backed largesse.”
A close call
There are dangers of screening movies shot on film, as viewers of the new Seth Rogen television series “The Studio” might be aware.
During the opening weekend of “Sinners,” moviegoers in Vaughan reported that midway through the movie, it suddenly stopped. “The lights came on, but everyone was left waiting for about 10 to 20 minutes before someone (probably the manager) came in and explained that the film reel had literally torn in half and could not be restarted,”
In an email to the Star, a representative for Cineplex confirmed that IMAX technicians were able to fix the problem and “the movie is screening as scheduled.”
Where else can I see “Sinners” in IMAX”
The re-release will bring the movie back to nine North American theatres:
- Harkins Arizona Mills 18 & Imax in Tempe, Ariz.
- Regal Irvine Spectrum & Imax in Irvine, Calif.
- Universal Cinema AMC at CityWalk Hollywood & Imax in Los Angeles, Calif.
- AMC Metreon 16 & Imax in San Francisco, Calif.
- AutoNation Imax Theater in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
- Imax Theatre in the Indiana State Museum in Indianapolis
- AMC Lincoln Square 13 & Imax in New York City
- Cinemark Dallas & Imax in Dallas, Texas
- Cineplex Cinemas Vaughan & Imax in Canada
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