Coleman attributes the word-of-mouth success of “Sinners” to one simple fact: It’s a good movie. Combine that with Coogler’s track record and a star lead actor in Michael B. Jordan, and success seems inevitable. But audiences and reviewers seem shocked when a scary movie becomes popular, even though it’s a fairly common occurrence.

The horror movie from Ryan Coogler is on a pace to collect at least $330 million in worldwide ticket sales, a level reached by few original films in the genre.