Tyler Perry’s Madea franchise isn’t exactly the sort of movie series that generates headlines. People don’t discuss them obsessively online like the most recent Marvel movie or consider them in conversations with “blockbuster” films. More often, Madea is the butt of jokes and has also been the source of criticism, as the seemingly endless franchise of comedies continues, seemingly forever. Perhaps because of that, it’s easy to forget that the reason there are so many Madea movies is because they’re actually insanely popular, and that becomes clear when you compare them with other Netflix hits like KPop Demon Hunters.
When Madea movies get released in theaters, they are regular box office winners, and now Tyler Perry has revealed just how many people watched Madea’s Destination Wedding in its first week, and…it’s a lot.
The streaming viewing stats for the end of the first week of Madea’s Destination Wedding estimate 1.3 billion minutes watched, which is an absolutely insane number when compared to everything else on the list. Kpop Demon Hunters, which has been an absolute juggernaut on Netflix, is only at a bit over 350 million minutes viewed, and while that movie has been out for over a month, its rewatchability has kept it at the top of the charts for weeks. It’s now being dwarfed by an order of magnitude.
Madea movies have nearly always been big wins for Tyler Perry. While the films didn’t exactly set box office records when they were theatrical releases, the incredibly consistent audience response, combined with modest budgets, made each one a financial success. That track record is certainly on display here. One has to assume that not only have a lot of people watched the new Madea film, but many watched it more than once.
Netflix has to be happy with these sorts of viewing numbers, and it won’t be shocking if we see more of Madea on Netflix, as it’s clearly a reason for people to get, or keep, a Netflix subscription. This is the second Madea movie made for Netflix, and both films have been successful. The previous flick, Madea’s Homecoming, reentered Netflix’s movie charts alongside the release of the new film.
The one-two punch of KPop Demon Hunters and Madea’s Destination Wedding, while certainly an odd combination, has made Netflix a top streaming platform. Any movie studio releasing movies this summer would love to have two major box office hits on par with what these films are doing. Sequels to both of them would seem quite likely given the success. The fact that we have yet to get a KPop Demon Hunters sequel announcement is something of a shock.
In the U.S., Madea’s Destination Wedding has fallen behind KPop Demon Hunters on the Netflix charts, but both movies are still doing incredibly well globally. Whichever one ends up on top, Netflix and movie fans are winning.
