When Black Excellence Isn’t Good Enough for Hollywood
A look at who gets praised, who gets diminished, and why it’s never just about the numbers. Delving into the numbers and perception of Sinners (2025) and Marty Supreme (2025)
by Rezi Ubogu ★ January 9th, 2026
Photo credit: Rezi Ubogu
In a millennium where some of the most influential movies starring and directed by people of color have flourished, there is no reason why they should be left out in the dark. However, this was not the case for Sinners (2025), which was excluded from various end-of-the-year film lists from Variety, Rolling Stone, and other publications owned by the controversial and allegedly racist Jay Penske of Penske Media Corp. Yet Sinners was one of the highest-grossing original films by a director of color and one of the most influential original films of 2025.
Many film critics and viewers have deemed Sinners (2025) a bad movie, despite its strong box-office performance and its alignment with Ryan Coogler’s incredibly successful filmography—Fruitvale Station (2013), Creed (2015), Black Panther (2018), and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022). For context, 39-year-old Ryan Coogler has the best results for any contemporary director after their first five films ($1.5 billion+ and 81 Metacritic average) since Steven Spielberg. Likely due to this, Coogler himself also secured a movie rights deal that has been virtually unheard of for an African-American director or even for new-generation directors before 2000. Given the negative discussion surrounding the film, one might expect other historically focused films to receive similar scrutiny; however, that has not been the case.
Some films have made significantly less money and have been less influential, yet were still framed as “must-see” cultural moments. One example is Marty Supreme (2025), which made substantially less than Sinners, even during its opening weekend and opening week. This discrepancy becomes even clearer when looking at how media praise is distributed. Timothée Chalamet has received overwhelming acclaim for his three major recent releases, Wonka (2023), A Complete Unknown (2024), and Marty Supreme (2025), while African-American actors who have sustained decades-long careers, such as Will Smith—the undisputed king of the July 4th film debut—dominated the holiday box office with Independence Day (1996), Men in Black (1997), Men in Black II (2002), and Hancock (2008)., are simultaneously discredited for theirs in the same breath. Although it may have felt longer, Chalamet has been an active actor for nearly a decade and is still making a name for himself. Smith, by comparison, has been a beloved household name for more than three decades and is already firmly established as a Hollywood icon. While everyone deserves to share the spotlight, the spotlight appears to have a clear preference when it comes to the color of skin of those who are favored.
Naturally, this raises the question of who is writing these reviews—and about whom. When a Black man attempts to change the world, with a diverse cast, a unique original narrative, and a talented BIPOC-led crew, it is overlooked. Meanwhile, when a widely known, but arguably mediocre film by a white director performs modestly at the box office, it is frequently framed as a triumph, with much of its budget clearly spent on talent and aggressive, in-your-face marketing. This imbalance forces us to reconsider who the industry deems worthy of attention. This dynamic is especially disheartening as a Television, Radio, and Film major, given how much collaboration and labor go into each production. I am a watcher of Josh Safdie and Timothée Chalamet and have been since the beginning of their careers, just as I am a fan of Michael B. Jordan and Ryan Coogler since the very beginning. Still, the stark difference in how their work is perceived and discussed by the media is impossible to ignore.
Within the past few months, Variety notably snubbed Sinners (2025) by emphasizing that it made $61 million of its $90 million budget—despite this being achieved in just a few days—while dubbing Timothée Chalamet the “king of the Christmas box office,” even though he remains millions away from earning that title, and Marty Supreme (2024) was not even the highest-grossing holiday release. While Wonka (2023), A Complete Unknown (2024), and Marty Supreme (2025) have all been labeled successes, having not even made the top spot in theaters, as Sinners did. Marty Supreme earned a “stellar $27 million” during its wide four-day Christmas debut against a $70 million budget—a context that was repeatedly omitted, unlike the constant emphasis placed on Sinners’ budget (Accessed January 4th, 2026). By contrast, Sinners made $61 million in its global debut. The disparity in coverage is undeniable.
On TikTok, Reel Takes keeps it real and captured this frustration by arguing that Marty Supreme is “essentially being treated as a wish kid by the trades,” metaphorically referencing the unheard of opportunities and praise. In contrast, films by BIPOC directors—such as Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) and Nope (2022)—are often snubbed critically, with their box-office success routinely diminished, especially during awards season. One commenter on Reel Takes noted, “The way Variety tried soooo hard to paint Sinners as a flop while Marty Supreme has only made back half its budget is a very…weird look” (accessed January 4, 2026).
When all is said and done, one film has already become a cult classic; yet, it is belittled for not being “good enough.” The other has been moderately successful but has also been characterized as a film “loved by insufferable, non-self-aware alpha-male finance bros, alongside The Wolf of Wall Street and American Psycho.” Either way, it is long overdue for truly groundbreaking films to be placed on the pedestal they have earned. I have not seen Marty Supreme yet, and if I do, I will not be watching it in theaters. I saw Sinners during its debut week, and I plan on watching it regularly for the rest of my life, although it left such an impact movie that I needed more time before my second watch. With this said, I am almost certain that its impact on me outweighs what the other ever will. Changing the world is not easy—but to many, Ryan Coogler has already done just that.
Edited by: Rezi Ubogu & Maia Simmons