Sometimes I read stories about film making that seem to be written by people who purposefully don't want to educate the public. It's fine to rail against Hollywood and say they are racist because they don't put out black films other than the Tyler Perry variety, but an education has to be set up to help your argument or to let people understand the obstacles that have to be overcome to get the variety of films they want to see.

I read an article bemoaning the fact that a new film out, Jumping the Broom, follows the same formula as a Tyler Perry film, minus the Medea character. The author is concerned because of that formula, which is you throw in some rich/poor conflict, a little bit of 'coonery' comedy, a liberal dose of Christian love and pop, you have a hit movie. The article was mad because there are no other kinds of black romantic comedies out there, and reminds the reader that movies like Love Jones and Mo Better Blues aren't being made.

So on a pure money approach, Love Jones made just under 12.5 million dollars worldwide in 1997. Mo Better Blues made just over 16 million in 1990. Jumping the Broom made 13.7 million dollars this weekend, which by the numbers from the previous movies will make it a solid seller, however you cannot argue the power of Perry. Just looking at similar films from the past three years and not counting Tyler Perry in the mix the average money made was 20 million, with Death at a Funeral (2010) at 47 million and Last Christmas (2007) coming in at 49 million. Another thing to understand is these movies don't do well overseas, so their money has to be made from domestic distribution.

So in the time frame, with eight films falling into the criteria according to BoxOfficeMojo.com, Tyler Perry had three films listed, with the lowest grossing 41 million and the highest grossing 60 million. That's a bit deceiving because the middle film grossed 55 million. So while a non Tyler Perry film, on average, can hope for a 20 million dollar return it could be reasonable to say a failure Tyler Perry film will make over 50 million, which is over two times the average take on a non Tyler film. Oh and the highest grossing film in this genre for Tyler Perry was a sequel!

So while I can understand wanting to have a variety of films exploring other subjects, you can't financially expect a studio to promote or even green light a film of this nature when the Perry formula will at least allow you to compete on the playing field. Take that out of the mix and the film will be lucky to crack 20 million.

Like the article did mention, it's not so much black and white as it is green. Like news reporting, money has entered the landscape and seeps into every decision. Unless you are an independent filmmaker willing to go through the trenches you aren't going get a major studio to fund your experiment. The numbers don't support that a mainstream audience is going to flock to your film. It also doesn't support that if you slap black on it, throw in some Christianity that the film will sell. Right now black Christian film goers are Tyler Perry's bread and butter. Thy trust him and will see anything he puts out, and he now has the clout to compete with the big boys. So far he hasn't made a 100 million dollar blockbuster, but he continues to make relatively inexpensive films that more than pay for themselves at the box office. The sales of the home entertainment media becomes pure profit for the studios. While many black people decry the Medea character, a film with Medea is gold. While I said he hasn't crossed the 100 million mark, his Medea films have come the closest, with his last Medea film, the one derided by many critics, took in 90 million dollars.

So does that mean we are doomed to more Medea and Tyler Perry wanna bes? Of course not. Right now, people are going to have to seek out new talent. Check film festivals, listen to recommendations from friends, search the web. At some point, the tide might change.