Tyler Perry is ending his Madea franchise on a high note. Over the weekend, A Madea Family Funeral opened at the domestic box office with an estimated $27 million.-
According to Variety, the final installment in the Madea franchise had the second-biggest debut in nearly a decade. Perry spoke about the achievement, comparing it to Dragon, the No. 1 weekend film, on Instagram Sunday.
"You all did 27 million with only 2, 442 screens while Dragon did 30 million on almost double the screens, 4,286," the filmmaker wrote. "I wonder what would happen in we were ever had a level and even playing field.
"But even with that I’m still grateful," he expressed his gratitude. "All these years and you’re still coming, still supporting, still being a blessing to me and my studio. I can’t even begin to find the words to express my gratitude, so for
"You have to put Madea in the pantheon of successful long-running franchises," said Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst with Comscore. "This character has resonated for over a decade and a half."
Perry announced he would be retiring the hilarious character during an interview with Tonight show host Jimmy Fallon last October.
According to Comscore, since partnering with Lionsgate in 2005 with Diary of a Mad Black Woman, the director has created more than 20 films with the studio, which have earned over $1 billion in ticket sales.
