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‘Boo! A Madea Halloween’ Generates An Estimated $16.7 Million This Weekend, Tyler Perry Celebrates Madea’s Victory, Why Is He Voicing Concern?

By Merry Strong
Published on: 12:08 PST, Oct 30, 2016

Tyler Perry’s Boo! A Madea Halloween is slated to gross another estimated $16.7 million by the end of today. According to Tri-City Herald, Madea Simmons beat out the likes of Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, and Ben Affleck in box office sales.

Released by Lionsgate, the latest spooky film in the Madea franchise has pulled in a whopping $52 million in just 10 days. It’s the director’s most successful attempt since the 2009 release of Madea Goes to Jail.

Amid his well-deserved celebration, Tyler Perry recently voiced his concern over the fact that Boo! A Madea Halloween isn’t getting equal play in white neighborhoods. He explained this concern in an interview with The Wrap.

“I still have issues getting screens in white neighborhoods believe it or not,” he said. “I think the numbers could have been bigger had people who are in the white suburbs had the option to go to their own theaters to see it. It’s something I’ve been dealing with for many many years.”

He went on to say that Jack Reacher debuted on 1,500 more movie screens than Boo! A Madea Halloween. The actual numbers amounted to 3,780 screens for Jack and 2,260 screens for Madea. The burning question seems to be whether or not Lionsgate made the huge mistake of leaving Madea-related money on the table.

Lionsgate execs are fully aware of the director’s comments. They stand by their original plan, which was to launch the movie in no more than 3,000 locations. On a brighter note, everyone was pleasantly surprised by how well Perry’s Halloween-themed Madea production did on its premiere weekend. The film exceeded predicted expectations by $10 million.

The biggest reason for this is attributed to the fact that Boo! A Madea Halloween appeals to a much more diverse audience than any other movie in the franchise. As you might guess, this type of crossover in the movie industry is a very good thing.

Historically, Madea audiences were comprised of roughly 80 percent African American viewers. During the movie’s debut weekend, a reported 60 percent of viewers were African American. The remaining 40 percent were comprised of a mix of Caucasian, Latino, and Asian movie-goers.

It no secret that Tyler Perry is an extremely talented man. He wrote, directed, and starred in Boo! A Madea Halloween. Have you ever wondered how he came up with his now-famous alter ego? It’s pretty simple, actually. Mabel Simmons came to be after Perry watched Eddie Murphy take on multiple roles in The Klumps. She’s also a cross between his mom and his aunt. Tyler explains Madea like this.

“She’s a strong, witty, loving, I mean really, just like my mother used to be before she died. She would beat the he** out of you but make sure the ambulance gets here in time to make sure they could set your arm back, you know what I mean? Because the love was there inside all of it.”

A recent Inquisitr report indicated just how much the cast of Boo! A Madea Halloween enjoyed working with director Tyler Perry, as well as being on the set. Many of the cast members were hand-picked by Perry himself.

In part, the process involved watching a variety of YouTube channels and following several popular young people on Instagram. This includes Yousef Erakat, Lisa Koshy, and Lexy Panterra, who all have roles in the film.

If you haven’t seen the movie, you’re definitely in for a treat. The plot isn’t far-fetched or way out there like some Halloween movies. The events that take place could very easily happen. If you’ve already watched Boo! A Madea Halloween, feel free to leave your comments or review below.

[Featured Image by John Salangsang/AP Images]

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