TV Article Box Office Preview: Tyler Perry takes on Oscar weekend By Joshua Rich Joshua Rich Joshua Rich is a staff editor for EW.com EW's editorial guidelines Updated on July 30, 2020 09:48AM EDT Academy Awards weekend is usually a slow one at the box office. But it’s hard to gauge just how much of a pop-cultural distraction the Oscars are going to be this year, considering all the talk of low TV ratings and whatnot. Also, things have been screwy at the multiplex lately: Taken hit it big opposite the Super Bowl (during another typically quiet frame); Paul Blart: Mall Cop is an out-of-nowhere smash; and other surprises have sprouted up nearly every weekend. So with the latest Tyler Perry release, Madea Goes to Jail, coming out, all bets are off. The domestic-dramedy maestro’s movies usually open well, and this one should, too. But just how big will it be? 1. Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail — $25 millionWith just two exceptions, all of Tyler Perry’s movies have debuted in the $20 mil-to-$30 mil range. This one, featuring Derek Luke and Keshia Knight Pulliam — and the first Perry flick to include Madea’s name in its title since his top earner, 2006’s Madea’s Family Reunion — should fall right into the mix. 2. Friday the 13th — $16 millionGreat $40.6 mil opening weekend, Jason! Now, your box office tally is going to get slashed. 3. Taken — $14 millionLiam Neeson is my hero. 4. Coraline — $12 millionKids gotta have something to see. 5. He’s Just Not That Into You — $10 millionThe star-studded rom-com has been hanging on really well at the box office, banking some $60 mil in two weeks. Expect it to drop a bit this time around, however, as Tyler Perry and all that Oscar (read: red carpet fashion) coverage will compete for the same female flock. ALSO OPENING THIS WEEKEND Fired Up! — $8 millionThis comedy — about football players who head to cheer camp to be around members of the fairer sex (my goodness, it’s like the cinematic offspring of Bring It On, Some Like it Hot, and Meatballs!) — is playing in fewer than 2,000 theaters, so it can’t really compete with the big girls. Now, how do you see the weekend’s box office race shaping up? More Box Office News: Friday the 13th slashes records EW.com’s Box Office Chart He’s Just Not That Into You gets lots of love Taken scores a touchdownPaul Blart edges out Underworld 3 to win the weekend addCredit(“Alfeo Dixon”)