In recent months, there have been many debates, conversations and arguments over the highly anticipated film ‘Think Like A Man,’ an adaptation of comedian and self-anointed self-help guru Steve Harvey‘s best-selling book, “Think Like A Man, Act Like A Lady.”
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There were women who called for an outright boycott of the film because of the portrayal of women as calculating, man-thirsty and incapable of finding and maintaining healthy relationships that was evident throughout the book, refusing to put a dime in Steve Harvey’s pocket.
Some critics — like Newsone Contributing Editor Kirsten West Savali in a nuanced commentary entitled, “Think Like A Man: Is Our Economic Growth Worth the Price of Admission?” — suggested that the film was not about Harvey’s arrogant, misguided presumptions of Black women and that movie-goers should consider supporting the predominately Black cast simply for the economic power it may yield in Hollywood. Not only does she write that Harvey’s opinion — no matter how deeply she disagrees — should not be stifled, but that Black America contains a multi-faceted culture that can not be ignored. The purpose of this chess-like tactic being to make room for more complex portrayals of African-American love and life on film.
Then there is the crowd who just “love them some Steve Harvey,” who were going to be there come rain, sleet or snow with their “Hi, Haters” signs held high.
Well the suspense is over.
‘Think Like A Man’ shattered Box Office expectations.
The Los Angeles Times reports:
The relationship comedy “Think Like a Man” wooed moviegoers away from “The Hunger Games” at the box office this weekend, marking the first time in four weeks the teen blockbuster hasn’t come in at No. 1.
The ensemble comedy about five ethnically diverse couples raked in a surprisingly strong $33 million, according to an estimate from distributor Sony Pictures. Heading into the weekend, the PG-13 film was expected to be in a tight race for No. 1 with the romantic tear-jerker “The Lucky One,” which came in around industry projections with $22.8 million. The nature documentary “Chimpanzee” also had a good weekend, scoring the highest debut yet for Walt Disney Studios’ Disneynature label with $10.2 million.
The strong opening for “Think Like a Man,” based on a relationship advice book by Steve Harvey, is good news for Sony’s Screen Gems label, which spent only about $13 million to produce the film. Screen Gems — which makes mostly low-budget horror, action and teen comedies — has had a good year at the box office. “Think Like a Man” marks the studio’s third No. 1 film in 2012, following the romantic drama “The Vow” and the vampire action flick “Underworld: Awakening.”
The movie made nearly as much in its opening weekend as last year’s comedy “Jumping the Broom,” which featured an African American cast and ultimately collected $37 million. Its opening was also higher than a number of Tyler Perry’s recent films, including the comedies “Madea’s Big Happy Family” and “Why Did I Get Married Too?” Both debuted with under $30 million.
“Think Like a Man” drew large crowds, with 62% of excited movie-goers being Black women 30 and older who graded the film an “A,” according to CinemaScore. No research has been done to see how it played in markets outside of the Black demographic.
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