Moviegoers this weekend were clearly in the mood for some laughs, sending Tyler Perry’s latest “Madea” comedy to handily take the top spot at the box office in its opening weekend.
“Boo! A Madea Halloween” emerged as the #1 film at the box office this weekend, racking up a domestic take of $27.6 million, reports The Hollywood Reporter.
This was not good news for Tom Cruise’s “Jack Reacher” sequel, with “Jack Reacher: Never Go Back” coming in at second place with $23 million.
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In fact, “A Madea Halloween” is Perry’s biggest film (as a director) in six years.
“It’s unique and different for a Halloween film. And there hasn’t been a ‘Madea’ film since December 2013, so I think audiences were ready,” Lionsgate distribution chief David Spitz told THR, adding that the audience for “A Madea Halloween” is more diverse than ever. “The vast majority of the audience for past ‘Madea’ movies was African-American (80 per cent to 90 per cent),” notes THR. “This time, that number dropped to 60 per cent.”
