Monday Morning Quarterback Part II

By BOP Staff

May 15, 2013

We're impossible!

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Kim Hollis: Peeples, allegedly a Tyler Perry production that he did not write, direct or star in, made $4.6 million. Do you consider this a bomb?

Jay Barney: While I am not shocked by this opening, as the Tyler Perry efforts are rarely on my radar screen, I am surprised by the lack of interest in this film. I realize his name was associated with this picture in a much different way than his previous projects, but still the name means something. While not the biggest box office draws, his name is a draw, and this opening is terrible. To put it into perspective, on a weekend where there was an opportunity for success, this film has bombed in a big way. Nobody ever thought it would open huge, but it opened embarrassingly low in the top 10. The Croods has been out for 50 days now. Oblivion has been with us for over three weeks. 42 has been out for a month. Mud is a smaller film. Pain and Gain is getting old. For Peeples to be competing for space with these films in its opening weekend is a really sad statement.

Brett Ballard-Beach: I don't know if bomb is the right word, but infinitely underwhelming seems like a good phrase. It shows not much else except that Tyler Perry hasn't quite reached the stage where his name on a film is akin to Quentin Tarantino's "presents" stamp of approval. I shouldn't be surprised that it played so low, considering that it sounds like a fun Meet the Parents knockoff and I wouldn't say no to seeing it.

Matthew Huntley: Not exactly a bomb, but more of a disappointment, although not a terribly surprising one. I mean, think about it, it takes a tired premise (the old "Meet the Parents" one we've seen time and again across all entertainment platforms) and probably doesn't do anything fresh with it. Plus the advertising was somewhat muted. I'd say its opening falls somewhere around the "lower end of expectations" mark, but "bomb" I think is too harsh, since it could still earn back its modest $15 million budget when all is said and done.

Edwin Davies: Not a huge bomb considering that the film only cost $15 million to make, but definitely confirmation that Perry's brand is not infallible. As we've seen time and again, the success of the films he directs seem to be directly in proportion to how much they feature Madea: if it has Madea, it'll be a bigger hit than if it doesn't. Yet his films (Alex Cross aside) are still pretty successful even when he is out of make-up. Following that logic - that films in which he plays Madea are always going to be more successful than ones in which he doesn't - it's easy to extrapolate that films which bear his name but don't involve him beyond that will probably not do that well. Such was the case with Meet the Peeples, which didn't really seem to have much going for it other than Perry's name, but without the accompanying fat suit.




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Bruce Hall: Not an outright bomb...maybe a small, incendiary grenade. Or a bucket of M80s. As Edwin pointed out, the movie didn't cost that much to make, and I suspect it will eventually - probably - at least break even once all is said and done. Funny thing is, even people who somehow missed the fact that Tyler Perry was involved with this movie surely took one look at the poster, or even the synopsis, and said, "This looks like a Tyler Perry movie." Then again, if you watch the trailer it doesn't really feel like one, and Tyler Perry clearly isn't in it. Part of the draw for his fans is his thematic voice, and seeing him IN it - whether he's playing Madea or not. This film clearly had neither, so it appeared to be just a Meet the Parents knockoff populated entirely by African Americans. In that context, I suspect some people found the concept unappealingly derivative and perhaps even demographically cynical.

Max Braden: For 2,000 theaters, that's a weak opening. I don't think that necessarily hurts Tina Gordon Chism (in her first time as director), because she gets to say she was endorsed by Tyler Perry. It probably doesn't hurt his brand this time, but if he keeps diluting it by putting his name on things that aren't his own work, audiences might start turning on him.

David Mumpower: Despite the modest budget, I still consider this total bomb-ish. As Max points out, the opening weekend per-location average is lousy, $2,259. And theater chains are going to push Peeples into smaller venues as quickly as possible. On its fourth day of release, Peeples fell out of the top five, and it's not like a couple of the movies that leapfrogged it are James Cameron productions. I think a Nia Peeples biography could have done roughly as well. I still love you because of North Shore, Nia. Call me.

Kim Hollis: It's a movie that doesn't really hurt Perry much, but it's pretty much going to be utterly forgotten. In fact, I'm forgetting about it right now.


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