Tyler Perry knows how to generate laughs from audiences with his Madea movies, but, of course, he’s also more than made a name for himself the drama genre. He’s made plenty of memorable movies with powerful messages like For Colored Girls, A Fall From Grace, and his long-awaited movie, A Jazzman’s Blues, (the third of which can be streamed with a Netflix subscription). Now, one of Perry’s latest dramas, Divorce in the Black, is making waves on Amazon Prime Video. And, with that, the streamer shared a wild stat about the film that's left me shaken, especially considering that some probably wouldn't call it one of the best movies on Prime.
It seemed like Tyler Perry’s luck with the critics was changing when some reviews of A Jazzman’s Blues showered praise upon the film, which has a Rotten Tomatoes critics rating of 65%. However, Perry's 2024 movie release is considered the high-grossing filmmaker’s lowest-rated movie at 0%. Pundits whose thoughts were collected by the review aggregator site praised the lead actors Meagan Good and Cory Hardrict, who play a married couple headed for divorce. But commentators definitely weren't kind to the film as a whole.
While that may have seemed like bad news for the Madea creator's latest flick, Variety shared an amazing statistic that came by way of Nielsen. Apparently, following its streaming premiere on July 11th, Divorce in the Black hit more than 498 million minutes during its first four days of availability on Amazon Prime Video. That translates to an estimated 3.5 million views. Also, the numbers kept going up in its third week, achieving 93.2 million minutes watched. And, if all of that weren't crazy enough, the film has led to more sign-ups than any Amazon MGM Studios-produced movie to date.
Those are some very staggering stats, to say the least. Imagine that many eyeballs being on the movie in so little time. Of course, Tyler Perry is no stranger to such buzz. When you look back at when his film A Fall From Grace (which earened 15% on RT) hit Netflix, 26 million people watched the streaming release within its first week, which is an amazing feat. Based on those numbers, it clearly didn’t matter that the critics weren't fans.
Honestly, though, I'm still curious as to how Divorce in the Black could've lead to so many Prime Video subscription sign-ups given the negative buzz surrounding it. One reason could be that Tyler Perry has had such a loyal fanbase, who've faithfully watched his content for decades now. And, on the flip side of that, there's also a chance that some of those views can be chalked up to hate-watches. I mean, sometimes, people just want to get in on any kind of discourse.
As divisive as his filmography may be, Tyler Perry has certainly built a lucrative empire -- one that's allowed him to form a serious creative footprint. He's also been cited for using his strong influence to add diverse voices to the industry, as he wants talented creatives of color to earn a chance to work on massive productions. Clearly, the efforts of those who worked on his latest flick weren't in vain based on those numbers.
One would think that industry analysts might take some time to examine the impact of Divorce in the Black. But, above all else, it's likely that Prime Video is thrilled to have this streaming victory -- and in the same year that Road House earned massive numbers accomplished for the platform as well. You can check out Mr. Perry's new latest movie now, and take a look at the streaming schedule for other options.
