Madea Goes To Jail Is Tyler Perry’s Most Popular Movie Among Latinos

Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail, starring Tyler Perry in a Tyler Perry production directed by Tyler Perry, is the Tyler Perry franchise’s most popular movies with Latinos to date according to the movie’s distributor, Lionsgate.

Lionsgate is using the film’s popularity among Latinoids to aggressively market the movie’s DVD release on Spanish-language networks like Univision and Telemundo.

This tidbit of news was actually fairly unsurprising to us, and, in our infinite wisdom and generosity, we have found within ourselves to let you know why:

• Mainstream media is, for the most part, not marketing to us.

What was the last relatively mainstream English-language movie about and/or starring Latinos that you remember being marketed heavily towards Latinos and non-Latinos alike? We can think of one: Nothing Like the Holidays. (Apologies to Carlita’s Secret.) Sure, Bella, Sin Nombre and Bajo La Misma Luna each made (tiny) waves, but only in very specific, Latino-centric regions. Besides, these were all solely or primarily in Spanish and specifically about immigration, possibly alienating a good portion of Latino audiences who are not necessarily interested in this as a movie topic. Madea Goes to Jail, in the absence of films marketed specifically towards Latinos, helped to fill that void for a certain type of Latino movie-goer. Which brings us to our next point…

• Mainstream media is not marketing to us effectively.

Surprise: Not all minorities relate to so-called “urban” culture. There is a sizable and still relatively untapped market of middle class Latinos who speak both English and Spanish, live in suburbs and enjoy spending their disposable income on entertainment as couples or families. Tyler Perry has recognized that there is a large group of very similar black audiences who are overwhelmingly ignored both by mainstream, Anglo-centric media and by so-called “black entertainment” media outlets. One of the huge characterizing factors in these two groups, as we see it, is that they are overwhelmingly Christian and have a lack of available, well-made, entertaining options that reflect their Christian values. Tyler Perry, while not necessarily marketing his movies and shows specifically towards Christian audiences, reflects certain Christian values and places an emphasis on family, relationships and forgiveness in his films.

• Sofia Vergara.

Casting a Latina in Madea Goes to Jail, even if as a prison inmate, was a genius marketing move on Tyler Perry’s part. In doing so, he opened his arms to the similar, Latino equivalent of his primary audience. 

• We like big men dressed as either women or young, freckled boys in suspenders. 

Fact. 

Latinos Like Tyler Perry [Home Media]