This year, the Oscar season prayer has a name, and it is “Sinners.” With “Sinners,” writer-director Ryan Coogler, one of Hollywood's most quietly seismic forces, steps into a genre long neglected by the Academy,

The film represents a departure for the “Black Panther” director, and a creative risk; it grapples with ideas about music, race, family, religion—and vampires.

If you haven’t heard of Sinners, Ryan Coogler’s latest cinematic hit, chances are you haven’t been paying attention. The period-piece horror film starring Michael B. Jordan opened in theaters April 18 and has already grossed an impressive $78 million in just nine days.