Tyler Perry: Hollywood's new commander in chief?

Last night, I was asked to speak at an evening program at a local temple. Since the topic was "Jews in Hollywood," I brought along a true Hollywood Jew, Sony Pictures' Amy Pascal, who spoke quite eloquently and insightfully about her faith and how it's sometimes tested by her job. Being my usual contrarian self, at one point I suddenly veered off topic, asking Pascal why -- if America had managed to elect an African American president -- was Hollywood was still light years away from the day when there could be a black studio chief.

As I was driving home, I realized I'd been even more clueless than ever. Hollywood already has a black president and his name is Tyler Perry. A star in every sense of the word, having written, acted, directed, produced and promoted a string of hits in film, TV and theater, Perry is really in a class by himself. He has a new 30-acre studio complex In Atlanta that opened last October, with the likes of Oprah, Will Smith and Sidney Poitier on hand for the opening celebration. The complex is equipped with five soundstages, so Perry can shoot all his films and TV shows there, including his new show, "Meet the Browns," which after a successful test run on TBS in January will relaunch early this summer, with an 80-episode commitment from the network.

Even though Perry is a huge presence in the African American community, he is still, well, undervalued in Hollywood, perhaps because he has until now been largely a self-contained hit machine, working outside of the major studio system. His agent, William Morris' Charles King, argues that Perry is a classic showbiz entrepreneur. After all, Perry owns his own studio, his movies, his video library (he's sold 25 million DVDs of his plays) and his TV shows. In fact, if you were to compare Perry to anyone in Hollywood, it would be George Lucas, another uncompromising outsider who saw the value in owning his own artistic output. "Tyler is on his way to becoming a mogul," says King. "He's an entrepreneur in the same spirit as Oprah, George Lucas, David Geffen or Barry Diller."

If there were any lingering doubt about Perry's clout, he showed it again this past weekend, opening another hit, "Madea Goes to Jail," which made $41 million in its opening weekend. Largely lost in the media whirlwind known as the Oscars, "Madea's" performance was nothing short of astounding--it was not only the biggest opening in the history of Lionsgate, the studio that releases his films, but was the biggest opening weekend performer since "Twilight" debuted way back in November.

As Media By Numbers box-office guru Paul Dergarabedian, who has a way with words, put it: "Tyler is as consistent at the box office as Pixar or Harry Potter." It's true--Tyler Perry is now officially one of Hollywood's most reliable brands. "Madea Goes to Jail" may have been his biggest opening-weekend hit to date, but it was hardly a fluke. He's released seven films in barely four years that have an average gross of more than $45 million, and that's only counting the new film's opening weekend. In terms of box-office consistency, that easily puts Perry ahead of far better-known stars, like George Clooney, Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy, just to put a few names on the table.

What's especially fascinating about Perry is that even after his consistent run of hits--all made for under $10 million--he is still underestimated by the scrum of box-office pundits who predict the industry's opening weekend business. The best known prognosticators, including Box Office Guru and Box Office Mojo, all pegged the film at around $25 million, a figure it easily surpassed. Why was everyone so wrong about the opening?  Keep reading:

A big part of the issue is that Perry still largely operates in a parallel universe. Even after America has elected a black president, it remains a country that is--especially when it comes to TV and movies--culturally divided. Even though it made $41 million, "Madea's" audience was still overwhelming African American and Latino, with whites making up only about 5% of its audience. Lionsgate execs suspect that "Madea" opened bigger than all of Perry's other films because it reached a younger black audience. In the past, Perry has appealed largely to older women.

As Lionsgate production chief Mike Paseorneck explained: "Tyler's audience just doesn't track well to begin with, which is probably why he's constantly being underestimated. The box-office predictions are in particular geared to films that appeal to younger moviegoers. I mean, how many times do you go out to a movie on a Friday night and see a line of older women around the block?"

Perry's drawing power was underestimated from the start. Paseorneck remembers having lunch with a rival studio executive the Friday that Lionsgate opened Perry's first film, "Diary of a Mad Black Woman," which went on to make $50 million after a $21.9-million opening weekend. "The film was already playing on the East Coast when the guy said to me, 'What do you think--could you do 5 million this weekend?'" Paseorneck recalls. "And I just grinned and said, 'We're already past that now.' "

Like many entrepreneurs, Perry is always looking for new worlds to conquer. Eager to broaden his horizons. Perry took a small part in in J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek," which opens this May. And Perry is interested in working as an actor for other directors, where he could team up with an established star in a "Rush Hour" or "48 HRS."-style action comedy. So far the studios have been a little slow to call with offers. But I'm betting that will change as Perry keeps rolling up the grosses. In Hollywood, money changes everything.    

Photo of Tyler Perry, right, on the set of "Madea Goes to Jail" by Alfeo Dixon / Lionsgate

Comments

[Nick]

Yea right. He is not funny at all

[Tobeka in South Africa]

So so true. Thank you for profiling this talent. I love the movies, while the talk of black realities there a serious aspirational factor embeded in his movies and theatre productions. We love and follow his work in SA.
In no time - the world will recognise!

[Tobeka in South Africa]

So so true. Thank you for profiling this talent. I love the movies, while the talk of black realities there a serious aspirational factor embeded in his movies and theatre productions. We love and follow his work in SA.
In no time - the world will recognise!

[David Feldman]

How come you didn't talk about all the writers he fired for going union? Ask the WGA about that one.

[Arye Michael Bender]

Tyler Perry, a very bright and talented man who leads with his heart. And his work is fully accessible to everyone. One of the joys of an America of increasing diversity -- much more laughter for all.

[Luke]

If i were a value investor, I would go long on Tyler perry, short on everybody else.

[CW]

I admire Tyler Perry's success and autonomy.
One interesting fact of his success is that he got his start by taking shrewd advantage of the African American church circuit.
He wrote/produced plays which appealed to a specific audience, which he could reach through a unique network.
This early strategy was the foundation for all of his subsequent career success - apparently indispensible.
Smart man.
It's great to see someone succeed so well with so much independence from the traditional channels of Hollywood.

[savvy1]

This is to the first comment on this thread who called himself Nick.... If your comment was meant to be sarcastic and dismissive, well the joke is on you! Tyler Perry may not be funny to you but what is funny is that HE IS LAUGHING ALL THE WAY TO THE BANK W/OUT A HANDOUT FROM MASSA'S TABLE. AUTONOMY AND SELF DETERMINATION ARE A BEAUTIFUL THING, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE SUPPORT ISN'T DEPENDENT ON THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN PROGRAMMED TO HATE YOU.

TYLER PERRY IS A MODEL MORE PEOPLE IN HOLLYWOOD NEED TO FOLLOW!

[spirit]

1) tyler perry is not a studio chief. he runs a production company. there is a huge difference in access to distribution and funding.

2) eddie murphy's films with paramount grossed $2 billion. comparing him and perry is ridiculous and ahistorical in any discussion about box office grosses.

3) the lack of attention to perry's opening weekend is directly attributable to lionsgate's failure to promote him in the mainstream. if perry's last film debuted with a $41 opening weekend as you report and the mass media did not cover this substantial accomplishment for a film with a non-blockbuster budget, lionsgate's publicity department failed massively.

4) you never addressed the issue of why there are no black studio chiefs.

[Teacher]

Tyler Perry and President Obama do not belong in the same sentence. RIDICULOUS!!! Obama is an EXCELLENT, profound, charmismatic, etc.... writer and speaker. Perry is a barely mediocre writer and horrific actor. Him being cast in a movie is a reason for me NOT to see it!!!!! And he has a very specific audience whereas the majority of the world loves Obama. If he is the president of "Black" hollywood we are all in trouble. Plenty of TRAINED writers are out here struggling to tell ALL of our stories. We'll see how many of them Perry gives exposure to.

In addition please google HOLLYWOOD HEAVY HITTERS SEND DIRECT MESSGAGE TO TYLER PERRY. He fired black writers who wrote 2 sitcoms a week and went above and beyond their job descriptions to hire one head white writer. Everyone had benefits except his writers!! He has more then enough millions to have given to ALL of his crew! Especially the people supplying the material in the first place!

I'm sorry but I don't like seeing black men emasculated wearing dresses. I didn't like it when Martin, Jamie, or Eddie did it either. When Flip Wilson did it that was one thing. But that wasn't all he did. Dave Chappelle is the only black comedian that refused. The ONLY one.

So Mr. Perry won't get a dime from me and I will contine to support trained filmmakers who tell well crafted stories that inspire me. If we had a whole bunch of our stories being told maybe the Madea Stereotype would not bother me so much -- but we don't, so it does.

Every dollar you spend on a movie you are telling Hollywood you want more of that imagery. That's why mine stay in my pocket every time a Perry movie comes out.