Madea (Tyler Perry, center) with Lisa (Rochelle Aytes, left) and Vanessa (Lisa Arrindell Anderson) star in Tyler Perry's 'Madea's Family Reunion'. - CONTRIBUTED
LOS ANGELES (Reuters):
PLAYWRIGHT TYLER Perry, who turned his crazy-granny 'Madea' character into a lucrative cottage industry, returned to the top of the box office on Sunday, exactly one year after stunning the industry with a No. 1 bow for his first film.
Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion, which Perry wrote, directed and starred in, sold an estimated US$30.3 million worth of tickets in its first three days since opening on Friday, distributor Lionsgate said.
The comedy-drama revolves around a pistol-toting matriarch, played by Perry, who beats and lectures her chaotic clan into submission. It was not screened in advance for critics, a tactic usually employed when a studio knows a movie will get harsh reviews but fans will turn out anyway.
BARELY A BLIP ON THE RADAR
While Perry, 35, is one of the best-known black playwrights in the United States, with sold-out shows in virtually every city for his Madea plays, he was barely a blip on the radar of mainstream movie audiences until last February when Diary of a Mad Black Woman opened at number one. The revenge comedy, budgeted at US$5.5 million, ended its theatrical run with US$50 million and was a huge seller on home video. It was also released by Lionsgate, a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.
Last week's champion, Walt Disney Co.'s fact-based survival saga Eight Below, slipped to No. 2 with US$15.7 million, taking its 10-day total to US$45.1 million.
Two other films opened in theatres, not that many people noticed. The canine cartoon Doogal played dead at No. 8 with US$3.6 million, while the mob drama Running Scared was whacked at No. 9 with US$3.1 million.
Steve Martin's comedy remake The Pink Panther, the teen comedy Date Movie, and the computer-animated children's book adaptation Curious George round out the top five.
Top 10 movies at the U.S. box office
1 Madea's Family Reunion US$30.3 million
2 Eight Below US$15.7 million
3 The Pink Panther US$11.3 million
4 Date Movie US$9.2 million
5 Curious George US$7.0 million
7 Firewall $6.3 million
6 Final Destination 3 US$5.4 million
8 Doogal US$ 3.6 million
9 Running
Scared US$ 3.1 million
10 Freedomland US$ 2.9 million
