Winter debut chills Perry

'Tyler Perrys Good Deeds' offered in the helmers second-cheapest opening-weekend domestic B.O. Tyler Perry's latest offering, "Good Deeds," battled in the late Feb debut weekend, a slot that's outdoors from the filmmaker's typical Easter time weekend launchpad. The Lionsgate pic gained $15.six million locally within the February. 24-26 frame, the 2nd-cheapest debut for that helmer and just the 4th time certainly one of his films has opened up to under $20 million throughout its inaugural weekend. Perry's Madea photos are often his most effective: "Madea Would go to Jail" bowed to north of $40 million in '09, then 2006's "Madea's Family Reunion," having a $$ 30 million opening. Perry's dramas are usually slated as fall releases, for example 2010's "For Colored Women," which opened up to $19.5 million. Still, "Deeds" is not even close to done. The pic, which toplines Perry, Thandie Newton and Gabrielle Union, saw the greatest Friday-to-Saturday uptick associated with a Perry opening, up 25%. This is a particularly significant improvement because of the pic's solid "A" CinemaScore rating. Women ranked the film very best in exit polls, that could also mean great news, as femme auds often be put off by opening weekend. Males gave the pic a b- evaluation. Perry does not have lengthy to hold back to prove themself again. His next film, "The Marrige Counselor," launches Stateside on This summer 27 via Lionsgate -- the director's first summer time opening. Contact Andrew Stewart at andrew.stewart@variety.com