Ryan Coogler

Born 1986

Fact

Black Panther grossed $1.35 billion — highest by a Black director

Fact

All three feature films were critical and commercial successes

Fact

Fruitvale Station was made for under $1 million

Ryan Kyle Coogler directed Black Panther — the highest-grossing film by a Black director in history and a cultural event that transcended cinema. The 2018 Marvel film grossed $1.35 billion worldwide and was nominated for seven Academy Awards, winning three. It proved that a film centered on Black characters, Black culture, and African aesthetics could dominate the global box office.

Born in Oakland, California, in 1986, Coogler was a standout football player who attended Sacramento State before transferring to USC's School of Cinematic Arts. His first feature film, Fruitvale Station (2013), told the true story of Oscar Grant, a young Black man killed by BART police in Oakland. Made for under $1 million, it won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and announced Coogler as a major talent.

Coogler followed Fruitvale Station with Creed (2015), which reinvented the Rocky franchise through the story of Adonis Creed, and then Black Panther. The sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), was made under the extraordinary circumstance of losing its star, Chadwick Boseman, and became both a blockbuster and a meditation on grief. Coogler's ability to make deeply personal, culturally specific films within the studio system makes him one of the most important filmmakers of his generation.