“Tyler Perry is the greatest.”
“Tyler Perry has single-handedly saved black Hollywood.”
“There has never been an artist as influential as Tyler Perry.”
Sound familiar? It’s almost as if Perry is signing government bailout checks, the way the black community has seemingly puckered up their lips collectively to kiss his a–, well let’s not go there. All I’m saying is that black folks love Tyler Perry.
But is he really the most powerful black moviemaker in Hollywood? Now some would say Will Smith wins this by a landslide, but in all honesty, Smith stopped being considered black by Hollywood execs somewhere between Men in Black 2 and Hitch.
Now that Smith has officially been disqualified from this debate, does that grant Perry the crown by default? Not so fast, says the Wayans clan. With decades of successful television and box-office success, the Wayans family has just as much of a right to stake their claim as black entertainment royalty as Perry. Let’s take a closer look at their box-office totals in comparison to Perry’s.
The Wayans Brothers’ Box-Office Totals
Dance Flick – $19,475,356Little Man – $58,645,052Scary Movie 4 – $90,710,620White Chicks – $70,831,760Scary Movie 3 – $110,003,214Scary Movie – $157,019,771Don’t Be a Mence to South Central – $20,109,115I’m Gonna Get You Sucka – $$13,030,057Low Down Dirty Shame – $29,392,418Mo’ Money – $40,227,00Total Gross – $680,753,360
Tyler Perry’s Box-Office Totals
Diary of a Mad Black Women – $50,633,099Madea Goes to Jail – $90,508,336Madea’s Family Reunion – $$37,105,289Meet the Browns – $41,975,388Why Did I Get Married – $55,204,525Madea’s Family Reunion – $63,257,940Daddy’s Little Girls – $31,366,978Total Gross – $370,051,555
Well, the numbers alone show that the Wayans have nearly doubled Perry’s monetary box-office success. But if Perry continues his string of strong showings, there’s a distinct chance that he can and will surpass the Wayans’ total one day.
In an effort to connect with our readers, we posed the following question on our rolling out Twitter page.
“Who deserves more props in Hollywood: the Wayans Brothers or Tyler Perry?”Here’s a sample of what Twitter nation had to say…
TrinkyWiggy I vote for TP. I appreciate the quality.
Cosmicgirlndc Um, really? Not, “who deserves LESS props? lol. 🙂
Tsag86 I’d go with the Wayans because I prefer their sense of humor but they’re both very successful conglomerates.
Mahoganydymond Great question … I think Tyler Perry…
Johonna81 Tyler Perry…love him or hate him but he’s helping in the way we’re portrayed in the media and creating roles 4 black actors. The Wayans bros are interested in nothing but coonery and buffoonery.
dramadupree Tyler Perry, hands down.
**The ro request: So now it’s time to hear from our ro community. Do you think the Wayans Brothers are more important than Tyler Perry? Let us know. –dewayne rogers
