The Mother’s Day weekend opening for JUMPING THE BROOM from T.D. Jakes Enterprises (TDJE) and Sony Pictures—celebrating marriage and family—drew a staggering $15.3 million at the box office in 2,035 theaters, eclipsing the romantic comedy SOMETHING BORROWED and landing squarely as the weekend’s no. 3 movie and its no. 1 comedy.
Meanwhile, in CinemaScore Friday-night exit polls, JUMPING THE BROOM earned a rare A rating, promising powerful word of mouth that bore out as grosses soared 26 percent from Friday to Saturday. “Unheard of!” Sony Vice President of Production DeVon Franklin said. “This movie is going to be around a long time!”
This is the third movie from TDJE and the second under Jakes’ first-look contract with Sony Pictures. "I have known T.D. Jakes some 20 years, first in book publishing and now in film," Michael Lynton, chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, said. "He never ceases to amaze me with his ability to succeed in every forum of media. It is a privilege and an honor to share this success with him in the film business."
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JUMPING THE BROOM is groundbreaking not just as a box-office phenomenon but also because it addresses abstinence, and with no profanity or nudity still manages to be the nation’s no. 1 comedy—superceding its opening-weekend competition in that genera.
In the romantic comedy, two families from two different socioeconomic levels merge because their son and daughter have taken a vow of abstinence and, after a six-month dating period, are headed toward marriage. As two family cultures collide, communication breaks down and the planned marriage almost collapses.
“I’ve learned that people don’t go out on Friday night for a sermon at the theater—and yet there are opportunities to lace entertainment with things all Christians recognize: like forgiveness, prayer, and struggle with temptation,” Jakes said.
Entertainment Weekly, reviewing the film with an “A-“ wrote: “You'll laugh—a lot—but you'll also shed tears of recognition at this funny, salty, strife-torn look at the agony and ecstasy of family.”
Next film: HEAVEN IS FOR REAL.
