Inside the Black Comedy Boom
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Entertainment Weekly Tyler Perry Staff Fri, Apr 15, 2016 ews+ ONE OF THE BIGGEST MOVIES TO hit multiplexes this month likely won't be a superhero flick or a dys- INSIDE THE BLACK topian drama. Barbershop: The Next Cut, the third installment in the series, is leading a wave ofblack comedies at the box office, includ COMEDY BOOM ing the comedic horror flick Meet the Blacks A diverse new crop of ensemble and Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele's action-comedy ( with a cute kitten), Keanu. films is bringing the funny to help bolster This mini-surge comes on the heels of the the Spring bOX Office. By Nina Terrero controversy over the lack of black dramas and performances nominated for Academy Awards. Ironically, the audience for black comedies has APRIL 15, 2016 EW.COM 11 Material supplied by Daily Buzz, LLC to you may be used for non-commercial and internal review, analysis and research purposes only. Any editing, reproduction, modification, publication, rebroadcasting, public display or public distribution is forbidden and may violate U.S. and international copyright laws. This material may include printed documents and images, audio works, audio/visual works, content stored on electronic storage media such as CDs and DVDs, electronic communications, and electronic documents and other content attached to or accessible through such electronic communications. By accepting, accessing and using the material, you agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless 1 / 2 Daily Buzz, LLC for third-party claims of intellectual property infringement based upon your violation of the foregoing restrictions. -N+N never been stronger. According to reaching a historically underserved recent data, minority audiences audience. "Growing up, I certainly purchased 37 percent of the 1.3 billion felt like I wasn't seeing myself on tickets sold in the U.S. in 2014. screen,'' says The Next Cut director TOP 10 HIGHEST "With the general market, you have Malcolm D. Lee. GROSSING BLACK movies coming out all the time," Yet onscreen representation of COMEDIES* explains Jeff Clanagan, CEO of Code minorities hasn't improved much. black Films. "Because there's a lack A study conducted by researchers at 1 / RIDEALONG (2 01 4) 6 / THINK LIKE of movies [geared toward black film the University of Southern California A MAN (2 01 2) STARS Kevin Hart. Ice goers] coming out, the audience is found that the industry has made Cube OPENING WEEKEND STARS Michael Ealy, much more loyal." little to no progress in presenting $41,516,170 TOTAL Gabrielle Union, Meagan BOX OFFICE $134,938,200 Good, Kevin Hart And comedies targeted primarily more nonwhite characters on film. "I OPENING WEEKEND at African-American audiences mean feel like Barbershop is just as valid as $33,636,303 TOTAL 2 / THENUTTY BOX OFFICE $91,547,205 big profits for Hollywood. The original any Judd Apatow movie,'' says Lee. PROFESSOR (1 99 6) Barbershop, released in 2002, grossed "Everyone can relate to getting STARS Edd ie Murphy, 7 / RIDEALONG2 (2016) $76 million on a $12 million budget. gussied up." Jada Pi nkett Smi th OPENING WEEKEND STARS Kevin Hart, Ice The Next Cut (out April 15), which sees Which goes to prove a larger $25,411,725 TOTAL Cube OPENING WEEKEND Ice Cube's character save his shop point-ultimately the appeal of these BOX OFFICE $128,814,019 $35,243,095 TOTAL BOX OFFICE $90,835,0 30 from gang violence, is on track to open comedies is color-blind, or should be. 3 / NUTTY PROFESSOR II: at $17 million. Already this spring, "Everybody wants to laugh,'' says Key, THEKLUMPS ( 2000 ) 8 / TYLER PERRY'S MADEA GOES TO JAIL The Perfect Match-a romiµitic comedy who produces and costars in Keanu. STARS Eddie Murphy, (2009) starring Terrence Jenkins and crooner "A dude slipping on a banana peel is a Janet Jackson OPENING STARS Tyler Perry, Derek Cassie Ventura- has grossed more dude slipping on a banana peel. It WEEKEND $42,518,830 TOTAL BOX OFFICE Luke, Keshia Kn ight Pul than $9 million, placing it in the top 10 doesn't matter if he's black or white." $123,309,890 liam OPENING WEEKEND with the animated smash Zootopia and The industry finally appears to be $41,030,947 TOTAL BOX OFFICE $90,50 8,336 the third Divergent film, Allegiant. realizing, or at least discovering, that 4 / BIG MOMMA'S HOUSE (2 000 ) Often released between Martin making movies that appeal to a broad 9 / ARE WE THERE YET? STARS Martin Lawrence, range of people can only increase (2 005 ) Luther King Jr. Day weekend and Nia Long OPENING summer, black ensemble comedies profits. "This is not Hollywood being WEEKEND $25,661,041 STARS Ice Cube, Nia Long OPENING WEEKEND succeed, in part, because they are purely altruistic," says Paul Dergara TOTAL BOX OFFICE $ 11 7,559,438 $18,575,214 TOTAL bedian, senior media analyst at com BOX OFFICE $82,674,398 Keegan Score. "If audiences bring in enough 5 / NORBIT (2 00 7) Michael 10 / WHITE MEN money to make these movies profit STARS Eddie Murphy, Key and CAN'T JUMP (1 992) Jordan able, Hollywood will keep making Thandie Newton Peele in OPENING WEEKEND STARS Wesley Snipes, Keanu more of them." The Barbershop crew $34,195,434 TOTAL Woody Harrelson. Rosie may have the last laugh. BOX OFFICE $95,673,607 Perez OPENING WEEKEND $14,711,124 TOTAL BOX OFFICE $76,253,806 Additional reporting by Devan Coggan and Ray Rahman SOURCE, COMSCORE ·DOMESTIC BOX OFFICE GROSSES After 27 seasons of innuendo, sades that Smithers loved make a big deal of it. that the THE LONGEST COMING The Simpsons finally Burns and let the viewers catch town knew he was gay and it OUT STORY EVER TOLD addressed the love life of on. Which they did. Time wasn't unusual. They just Waylon Smithers, as Homer & passed and we realized every wanted to find him somebody Co. tried to find him a boyfriend one in Springfield probably that was more of a match than to end that pointless pining knew Smithers was gay except Burns. The point of the episode for his boss, Mr. Burns. Here, for the man he loved .... [Writer] is not because of who he is but showrunner Al Jean discusses Rob LaZebnik pitched a story because of who he loves-i.e., Smithers' sexual awakening. about Smithers wondering Burns-Smithers is doomed to "[Late Simpsons exec pro if he was ever going to get a some unhappiness. But in life ducer] Sam Simon came up reciprocal attraction from that happens sometimes: with the idea that Smithers Burns, a man for whom the What we want isn't exactly was gay, and he said we should definition of 'gay' is still what will make us happy." subtly imply in different epi- 'carefree.' I loved that we didn't - AS TOLD TO DAN SNIERSON 12 EW.COM APRIL 15, 2016 Material supplied by Daily Buzz, LLC to you may be used for non-commercial and internal review, analysis and research purposes only. Any editing, reproduction, modification, publication, rebroadcasting, public display or public distribution is forbidden and may violate U.S. and international copyright laws. This material may include printed documents and images, audio works, audio/visual works, content stored on electronic storage media such as CDs and DVDs, electronic communications, and electronic documents and other content attached to or accessible through such electronic communications. By accepting, accessing and using the material, you agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless 2 / 2 Daily Buzz, LLC for third-party claims of intellectual property infringement based upon your violation of the foregoing restrictions..