By Lisa Collins

      When Tyler Perry’s “Why Did I Get Married?” beat out George Clooney’s “Michael Clayton” and "We Own The Night" to capture the number one slot at the nation’s box office, going on to gross nearly $40 million in its first two weeks, Hollywood executives awakened to the reality that with his third number one release in a row, Perry’s success was no fluke.

      Perry had not only carved out a successful niche with a loyal following that had consistently come through for him at the box office, but had built a powerful Atlanta-based studio and brand, expanded into television and had Hollywood chomping at the bit to get a piece of the action.

      "My strong hunch is that this is the last time anybody will underestimate Tyler Perry," Lions Gate President Tom Ortenberg told the L.A. Times.

      Fact is, Perry's $200 million-plus track record in Hollywood coupled with the continued bankability of marquee stars like Will Smith, Jamie Foxx and Denzel Washington; the commercial success of films like "Ray", "Dreamgirls" and "American Gangster", and the critical acceptance that has come from a growing number of Oscar nods to black actors—including Forest Whitaker, Halle Berry and Jennifer Hudson—is fueling somewhat of a renaissance for black filmmakers.

      Just as 2007 was a great year, a full slate of releases on tap for 2008—including two new releases from Perry as well as Will Smith, Eddie Murphy, along with new projects from those like Spike Lee—will have black filmmakers continuing to turn the heat up.

      "You'd be hard pressed to point to a time when we've had the level of financial prosperity with films that were made by and for us," states Will Packer, whose Rainforest Films topped the box office with "Stomp The Yard" and "This Christmas" "Five to ten years ago, you didn't have films like "Stomp The Yard", "Why Did I Get Married?" and "This Christmas" opening at number one. We’re starting to see a diversity of voices telling stories that maybe prior to five years ago would not have been told.”

      "This landscape is really opening up," reports David E. Talbert, who like Perry started out as a black playwright with a proven track record.

      Earlier this year, Talbert came in at number three at the box office with "First Sundays" starring Ice Cube, followed by Malcolm Lee's "Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins" which bowed at number two in February.

      The recent successes of Packer, Talbert, Lee and Perry—whose fifth film, "Meet The Browns" starring Angela Bassett, releases this month—have served to underscore the appetite of a once underserved market now generating huge profits.

      Not only is the number of producers, filmmakers, and studios looking to get in on the act growing at an unprecedented pace but with it, the importance of the faith-based community that helped to spawn Perry's success.

      "The black church remains the centerpiece of the community so anytime you want to get a message out, even today in 2008—the shot heard around the community still comes from behind the pulpit. And while marketers believe that churchgoers only want to see something that is spiritual, what they need to understand is that the same people who see "American Gangster" will see "Mama, I Want To Sing".

      "But", Talbert adds, "People have a misconception about what the faith-based community means. A lot of people think of the pastors like Santa Claus and if you're nice, they'll open up the gift bag that is their members at the box office. They underestimate the intelligence of the audience in the black church. It's got to be sincere, which is why Tyler Perry does so well.  I had a great time doing the choir scenes and the big church scenes. I was shouting myself.

      "They also need to keep in mind that the faith-based community isn't just within the four walls of the church. Whether or not someone steps foot in the church, your mother or your grandmother did or still do, so you're part of the faith based community. It is a part of the fabric of our people."

      "Before Tyler Perry, Hollywood didn't know that community or that Tyler's market was out there and in that sense, he has absolutely paved the way," notes producer Holly Davis-Carter, who is prepping for the cinematic release of  "Mama, I Want To Sing" this fall. "Tyler's stuff is not exclusively faith-based, but it is so closely linked to the church experience, which he is a part of and it has opened the way for the rest of us to come through and tell stories of hope, faith and the black experience."

      By all accounts, Hollywood has not found religion.  It’s just following the green. And whether or not the success is creating the kind of clout for black filmmakers that will make a difference in determining what films get made depends on who you ask.

      “Until the agenda is unifying our creative talents and alliances in our business communities, nothing’s going to change,” observes Reuben Cannon, who has produced all of Perry's successful films. “Until you invest in you, you're always be in the business of asking for permission. When I made "Get On The Bus", I realized I had to go outside of Hollywood for financing."

      Cannon has long pushed for greater collaboration between black filmmakers and black business or other sources of capital within the black community and away from mainstream Hollywood studios, which he feels exploit black filmgoers seeking quality entertainment.

      “Yes, filmmaking is a huge risk,” Cannon continues. “The average cost of a Hollywood produced film is $100 million; $60 million for production and $40 million to marketing. Eighty percent of the films fail to break even at the box office.

      Cannon, a long time believer that Hollywood has ignored a potentially highly profitable underserved domestic market, advocates a business model that includes sharing equally in the cost of production and therefore the profits. None of the films I've ever been involved with have lost money. But you can only have clout when you are willing to invest financially in your own project.”

      "Hollywood is a reactive industry," Packer maintains. "It operates under an economic imperative. If a genre, particular vein or style of filmmaking is successful, then the people that make those films will have more clout. Where there's an audience demand, there's an industry demand. Do we control distribution in the way we will one day, no, but it's a process."

      It was just four years ago that no major studio would take a chance on Perry on his terms.

      "To say that we haven’t moved the needle at all is an understatement", says Tirrell Whittley, co-founder of Liquid Soul Media—whose clients have included Rainforest Films (“Stomp The Yard” and “This Christmas”) and Code Black Entertainment (“Mama, I Want To Sing”) is, a lifestyle marketing services company specializing in faith-based marketing, reaching the HBCU (Black colleges) and entertainment.

      "Putting together a model for distribution is the key to a bigger stakeholder position, but today, you need that Hollywood engine. They have the network capability to have that film placed in 2000 screens. And there’s certainly something to say about coming to the table with a Tyler Perry track record. "

      Even without it, a growing number of black filmmakers are betting on themselves. John Singleton spent some of his own money to finance "Hustle & Flow",

      “What you have are black people taking charge,” Singleton has said.” “You have Tyler Perry [creator of ‘Diary’] financing that himself and Ice Cube produced [‘Are We There Yet?’] You know, so it is a really good time to be making films independently."

      There are still major hurdles, including what has long been seen as the limited appeal of black films internationally,—a source of revenue that has traditionally accounted for half of a studio's film profits. But with the growing successes of films like “Dreamgirls”—which opened at number one in Japan and made about scored over $50 million in foreign ticket sales—and the continued success of Smith, Murphy, Washington and even Martin Lawrence (whose “Big Momma’s House 2,” performed well), even that is changing.

      What's unclear is whether or not a new business model for black filmmakers will mean a higher financial cap in the making of more quality movies, particularly as black films have tended to be much lower in budget than your standard Hollywood fare.

      Talbert and Packer believe it will.

      Says Talbert, "It's all about what the market will bear. There's no reason to believe that the budgets won't rise as the profits and quality of the films do."

      “With each picture and as our track record gets better and our position to go in and request more dollars gets valid," says Whittley of the marketing process. "Studios are calling on us.  At the end of the day, what they’re interested in is making money and these films are making money.”

      "And the key is that there is a huge audience out there for them that we're tapping into through black colleges, fraternities, groups like the 100 Black Men and the church."

      Though for Cannon and Perry, one of their secrets to success may lie in the Atlanta location of Tyler Perry Studios.

      “Creating and producing outside of Hollywood is a major factor. We're not distracted," Cannon says.  I don't believe our studio could exist in Hollywood where there’s a lack of unity within the creative community and doing lunch is a profession. Before we begin any production, we're led in prayer by Tyler Perry, giving praise, honor and gratitude to God for all our blessings.”