Who says that films with all-Black casts can't sell box office tickets? The feature film "Think Like a Man" debuted this weekend, knocking the longstanding "Hunger Games" off the number one spot and pulling in about $33 million at the box offices according to industry estimates. That impressive number is double what the astounded execs at Sony Pictures had predicted for the film. What's even more, the film based on Steve Harvey's relationship advice guide showed at 2,017 locations, which makes its weekend earnings all the more impressive. "Think Like A Man" beat out "The Vow," the romantic drama headlined by Zac Efron which also released this weekend at a much higher number of locations.

“The movie had a negative cost between $12M-$13M so we’re thrilled,” said one Sony executive. “Any weekend where you make back the negative cost in the first weekend is a good weekend in our books.” A dynamite marketing strategy lead by industry big shot Jeff Blake, which included a very successful social media campaign, contributed to the large turnout this weekend, as well as the large amount of Black star power headlining and promoting the film. This breakout box office win is also a score for director Tim Story ("Barbershop," "Fantastic Four 1 and 2") whose quickly becoming one of the go-to directors in Hollywood, for films targeted towards a range of audiences, a rare feat for directors of color hoping to break barriers. Why the executives at Sony Pictures had such low hopes for this film may be the only blemish to this otherwise much deserved box office success that will hopefully lead to executives placing more faith into Black cast films and Black directors as well.