• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

LIONSGATE(R) and Tyler Perry Break Out Next Two Films on Heels of #1 Hit TYLER PERRY'S MADEA GOES TO JAIL

Posted on: Wednesday, 4 March 2009, 13:43 CST

Perry To Write, Direct, Star In TYLER PERRY'S I CAN DO BAD ALL BY MYSELF And TYLER PERRY'S WHY DID I GET MARRIED TOO

SANTA MONICA, Calif., March 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --LIONSGATE(R) (NYSE: LGF), a leading next generation studio, announced today that it has acquired the rights to the next two films from writer/director/actor/producer Tyler Perry, TYLER PERRY'S I CAN DO BAD ALL BY MYSELF and TYLER PERRY'S WHY DID I GET MARRIED TOO. The announcement comes as the latest title in Lionsgate's Tyler Perry franchise, TYLER PERRY'S MADEA GOES TO JAIL, continues its reign as the country's #1 film for the second week in a row. The announcement was made today by Joe Drake, Lionsgate President, Motion Picture Group, and Co-Chief Operating Officer.

Academy Award(R) nominee Taraji P. Henson (THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON) stars in TYLER PERRY'S I CAN DO BAD ALL BY MYSELF, which is based on Perry's play of the same name. Perry's signature character, the indomitable Madea, will be featured in the film. Principal photography is scheduled to begin on March 16 at the new Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta. TYLER PERRY'S I CAN DO BAD ALL BY MYSELF is expected to be released nationwide on September 11, 2009.

TYLER PERRY'S WHY DID I GET MARRIED TOO is a sequel to the 2007 critical and box office hit TYLER PERRY'S WHY DID I GET MARRIED? Principal photography will begin later this year, and the film is expected to be released nationwide on Easter weekend, April 2, 2010. Last year, TYLER PERRY'S MEET THE BROWNS opened on Easter weekend (March 21, 2008), with a three-day box office total of $20 million.

Said Mike Paseornek, Lionsgate President of Motion Picture Production, "We could not be any prouder of our partnership with Tyler Perry, an amazing talent, dedicated colleague and beloved family member."

Said Perry, "A filmmaker could not ask for a better home than Lionsgate. The studio has provided me with incredible support over the years, allowing me the creative freedom to make the films my audience expects and comes out to support."

Tyler Perry has released seven films through Lionsgate since DIARY OF A MAD BLACK WOMAN in February 2005, and they have collectively grossed nearly $350 million at the North American box office. Lionsgate has also sold nearly 25 million DVD's of Perry's films and video catalog titles. Lionsgate's Debmar-Mercury television syndication company has delivered 126 episodes of his highly successful television series, "House of Payne," which is airing in a dual window on TBS and in Fox station group-led syndication, and 80 episodes of his "House of Payne" spin-off, "Meet The Browns," have already been ordered to air on TBS this summer and in Fox station group-led syndication in Fall 2010.

ABOUT LIONSGATE

Lionsgate is the leading next generation studio with a major presence in the production and distribution of motion pictures, television programming, home entertainment, family entertainment, video-on-demand and digitally delivered content. The Company is leveraging its content leadership and marketing expertise through a series of partnerships that include the operation of the FEARNet branded VOD and Internet horror channel with Sony and Comcast, the expected fall 2009 launch of EPIX, the new premium entertainment channel with partners Viacom and MGM, investment in the leading young men's digital distribution platform Break.com, ownership of the premier independent television syndication company Debmar-Mercury and an alliance with independent filmed entertainment production and distribution company Roadside Attractions. Lionsgate also has forged partnerships with leading content creators, owners and distributors in key territories around the world, including Televisa in the U.S. and Latin America, StudioCanal in the UK, Hoyts and Sony in Australia and Eros International in India. Most recently, Lionsgate acquired the TV Guide Network and TVGuide.com, in a transaction that closed as of February 28, 2009.

The Company has generated one of the industry's leading North American theatrical box office market shares for calendar 2009 to date, propelled by successes such as Tyler Perry's Madea Goes To Jail, which achieved the largest opening weekend in Lionsgate history, and My Bloody Valentine 3D. Lionsgate has forged strong positions in television and home entertainment with the production of such critically-acclaimed television series as "Weeds" and "Mad Men," the distribution of "Tyler Perry's House of Payne," "Family Feud," "South Park," and "The Dead Zone," and nearly 7% market share and the industry's leading box office-to-DVD conversion rate in home entertainment. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 12,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as the foundation for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate brand is synonymous with entrepreneurial innovation and original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the globe.

www.lionsgate.com

For further information, contact: Sarah Greenberg 310-255-3856 sgreenberg@lionsgate.com For corporate inquiries, please contact: Peter D. Wilkes pwilkes@lionsgate.com 310-255-3726

SOURCE Lionsgate

Source: PR Newswire

More News in this Category