NEW YORK, (Reuters Life!) – Filmmaker Tyler Perry has had no trouble claiming financial success when audiences flock to his comedies, but this week his box office pull will be tested with the dark drama, “For Colored Girls.”
Currently America’s most successful African American film director who often attaches his name to movies adapted from his own stage plays, Perry has raked in more than $450 million at box offices, mostly in the United States.
But his new movie, “For Colored Girls,” opening on Friday, is far removed from the comedic fare for which he first gained fame, including “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” and “Madea’s Family Reunion.
“For Colored Girls” tackles issues such as abuse and abortion, and is adapted from poet and playwright Ntozake Shange’s, “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf.”
“This was the most intimidating work I have ever taken on,” Perry told reporters in a recent news conference. “I walked away from it many times.”
Yet the intertwining stories of nine women facing trials in their everyday lives kept pulling him back, and for his adaptation, Perry has updated the 1970s-era play with a film presentation of modern black women living in New York City who face troubling dilemmas and decisions.
Helping the movie’s box office potential is its long roster of high-profile female actors and performers, including Janet Jackson, Whoopi Goldberg, Phylicia Rashad, Kerry Washington, Thandie Newton and Macy Gray.
But Carl DiOrio, a box office analyst for The Holly-wood Reporter, said while pre-release interest was “high”, the actresses alone were not enough to guarantee popularity.
“It’s a solid cast but the cast itself won’t necessarily drive the opening. If there is a star in the mix it’s Tyler Perry,” he said. “There is no doubt that he delivers a fan base. (But) because of the turn into much grittier fare that he takes with this film, it remains to be seen how it plays over subsequent weekends.”
The film is projected to make Perry’s usual opening haul of around $20 million based on tracking surveys, said DiOrio, but the long-term box office was unclear as “it’s hard to market this like a typical Tyler Perry movie.”
Adding to that are questions over whether Perry can handle translating Shange’s poetic monologues and capture her feminist sensibilities. Early critical reaction has been mixed.
“While Perry’s craft has slowly but surely improved with each successive film, this latest project seems to fall beyond his reach,” said Variety in its review.
