‘Bikeriders’ Maneuvers Through 60’s Chicago Motorcycle Gang Life

US actor Austin Butler attends the Los Angeles premiere of Focus Features' "The Bikeriders" at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California on June 17, 2024. (AFP)
US actor Austin Butler attends the Los Angeles premiere of Focus Features' "The Bikeriders" at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California on June 17, 2024. (AFP)
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‘Bikeriders’ Maneuvers Through 60’s Chicago Motorcycle Gang Life

US actor Austin Butler attends the Los Angeles premiere of Focus Features' "The Bikeriders" at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California on June 17, 2024. (AFP)
US actor Austin Butler attends the Los Angeles premiere of Focus Features' "The Bikeriders" at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California on June 17, 2024. (AFP)

For Austin Butler, getting into his role as the stoic bike rider named Benny in the Focus Features film "The Bikeriders" meant learning everything he could about riding a motorcycle.

"Just riding for so many hours that it feels like second nature and then by the time I'm there I'm not having to think about the motorcycle or anything," the "Elvis" actor said.

The film is based on photojournalist Danny Lyon's 1968 book of the same name, featuring photos and interviews with members of the Chicago Outlaws Motorcycle Club.

Jeff Nichols, who wrote and directed "The Bikeriders," believed it was important to reimagine Lyon’s work through a feature film.

"You can't pick that book up and not be captivated by these photographs and these interviews," he said.

"The people in it, they just feel honest, and they also feel really cool. You're looking at their hair, you're looking at their bikes and their clothes and the detail work that they put in their clothes, it really is a compelling thing," Nichols added.

The drama movie takes place in the 1960s and follows the lives of local outcasts in a Chicago motorcycle gang called Outlaws MC that become like family.

Their lives suddenly change when the club becomes a hub for violence that forces Benny to choose between his family and a life of crime.

"The Bikeriders" arrives in theaters on Friday.

Tom Hardy plays the leader of the gang named Johnny while Jodie Comer portrays Benny’s wife, Kathy.

Hardy appreciated how immersive the world of the 1960s biker gang was in the film.

"You could sense how beautifully laced it was in nostalgia of the period and the attention to detail was really specific, that it was hard not to be drawn in by the evocation," he said.

Part of the authenticity of the film was Nichols accessing some of Lyon's interviews with his subjects on reel-to-reel tapes to share with all the actors, which was very helpful for Comer.

"It just became very important for me not to worry about doing a generic Chicago and then worry about people judging me on that," Comer said.

Both Comer and Hardy had the task of taking on the unique pacing and Midwestern dialects of their characters based on Lyon's interview recordings.

"She is larger than life and she has some interesting stresses and inflections but it's such an insight as to who she is," the "Killing Eve" actor added about her character Kathy.



‘Sinners’ Surges Past ‘Minecraft’ to Lead Box Office

 Director Ryan Coogler, left, and Michael B. Jordan pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film "Sinners" on Monday, April 14, 2025, in London. (AP)
Director Ryan Coogler, left, and Michael B. Jordan pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film "Sinners" on Monday, April 14, 2025, in London. (AP)
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‘Sinners’ Surges Past ‘Minecraft’ to Lead Box Office

 Director Ryan Coogler, left, and Michael B. Jordan pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film "Sinners" on Monday, April 14, 2025, in London. (AP)
Director Ryan Coogler, left, and Michael B. Jordan pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film "Sinners" on Monday, April 14, 2025, in London. (AP)

Brand names, not filmmakers or stars, are said to rule the box office these days. But Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners,” led by twin Michael B. Jordans, proved a bloody exception to modern movie rules, launching with $45.6 million in ticket sales in US and Canadian theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday.

“Sinners,” a Warner Bros. release that cost about $90 million to produce, was a bold gamble on originality — albeit with genre elements — and one of the most bankable American directors in Coogler. The “Creed” and “Black Panther” director wrote and produced “Sinners,” a 1932-set vampire movie about bootlegging brothers (both played by Jordan) who open a juke joint in their Mississippi hometown.

“A Minecraft Movie,” the year’s biggest Hollywood hit, followed close behind in second, collecting $41.3 million in its third week of release. That gave Warner Bros., after a handful of disappointments, an enviable one-two punch at the box office with one original, director-driven movie and one IP-based property.

“A Minecraft Movie,” which Warner Bros. co-produced with Legendary Pictures, has amassed $720.8 million worldwide in three weeks of release.

Pam Abdy and Mike De Luca, co-chairs of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, celebrated the two films’ resonance with moviegoers. The studio accounted for a remarkable 64% of the domestic box office for the Easter weekend.

“Movies have the power to transport us to worlds only seen on the big screen, and Warner Bros. Pictures remains committed to bringing singular in-theater experiences to audiences looking for bold movies, both original and those based on beloved existing properties,” Abdy and De Luca said in a statement Sunday.

But all eyes were on the performance on “Sinners,” which Warner Bros. went to extreme lengths to secure. Abdy and De Luca agreed to give Coogler not just a cut of gross ticket sales but ownership of the film after 25 years — a virtually unheard of concession.

But Coogler and Jordan, whose collaborations stretch back to “Fruitvale Station,” make up one of the industry’s most potent director-actor duos. Reviews (98% “fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes) were stellar for “Sinners” and audiences, too, were enthralled by its supernatural twists. The film earned an “A” CinemaScore from moviegoers.

Overseas, “Sinners” faced a more uphill battle. It collected $15.4 million in 71 international markets. Domestically, “Sinners” attracted a diverse audience: 38% Black, 35% white, 18% Hispanic and 5% Asian.

Before “Sinners,” dual roles had been rough business for Warner Bros. The studio saw flops in both “The Alto Knights” (a period gangster film featuring a doubled Robert De Niro) and “Mickey 17” (a sci-fi movie with two Robert Pattinsons).

But the strong opening for “Sinners,” which should be sustained in the coming weeks given the strong word of mouth, cements Coogler’s place as one of a handful of filmmakers whose name draws big audiences. Another would be Jordan Peele, whose “Nope” (2022) debuted similarly with $44.3 million.

Angel Studios’ “The King of Kings,” an animated tale of Jesus’ life aimed at Christian audiences, capitalized on the Easter weekend, grossing $17.2 million in its second week of release. That was nearly equal to its opening weekend ($19.1 million), and brought “The King of Kings” to a domestic total of $45.3 million.

Bleecker Street’s “The Wedding Banquet,” Andrew Ahn’s reimagining of Ang Lee’s 1993 comedy of errors, opened on 1,142 North American screens with $922,906 in ticket sales. “The Wedding Banquet,” a hit at the Sundance Film Festival, stars Lily Gladstone, Bowen Yang, Kelly Marie Tran and newcomer Han Gi-chan.