Summary

• Divorce in the Black is a critical disaster with a 0% score on Rotten Tomatoes, a record low for Tyler Perry's career.
• Perry's audience scores often disagree with critics, but even general audiences found Divorce disappointing with a 54% score.
• Despite Perry's success with Madea movies, Divorce in the Black marks his lowest outing yet in of critical reception.

Divorce in the Black's reviews have been tremendously bleak.

While the score is likely to fluctuate with more reviews, Divorce in the Black sits at a score of just 0% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer. With 10 professional reviews submitted, all current critics are in agreement that Perry's most recent Prime movie is a complete disaster. The audience score is far more favorable with a 53% score, but even that bears a Rotten designation.

How Divorce In The Black's Score Compares To Other Perry Movies

No Perry Movie Has Performed More Poorly

Tyler Perry is no stranger to poorly-reviewed movies. Of Perry's 45 movies, only nine have ever been rated Fresh, and an even smaller percentage have received Certified Fresh ratings, as just two earned the designation. 30 of Perry's movies have been branded Rotten, even in spite of Perry's considerable box office success. These ratings do not necessarily mean that critics all agreed to offer the movie a 0% score, as it currently averages a 3.8 out of 10 rating. The Tomatometer score simply indicates that critics have unanimously agreed that the movie was a poor showing for the acclaimed director.

Some of Perry's movies have not been reviewed by critics, which makes audience scores an important consideration. Critics often disagree with audiences when it comes to Perry's movies. While Divorce had nothing but disdain from both critics and audiences, there is a considerable split in appreciation, as audiences have at least afforded a score of more than 0%. Significant divergences between the two scores have been common throughout Perry's career, as audiences often favor Perry heavily. As an example, check out the chart below, which features his top audience reviews and the countering critical responses of some of his movies:

That disagreement between audiences and critics has been instrumental in preserving Perry's career, but Tyler Perry's Divorce in the Black was a poor showing for general audiences as well. A 53% score is still Rotten, marking a rare moment of agreement for both sides of the Rotten Tomatoes metrics. Perry's Madea Cinematic Universe is much-beloved by audiences, but his latest work is nothing but a disappointment to loyal viewers. With a 0% Tomatometer score, it is the lowest outing in Perry's career and marks another step in a poor run of critical outings.

Why Divorce In The Black's Reviews Are So Negative

The Performances Remain A Positive Element

Divorce in the Black's abysmal score indicates that all the critics decided to rate the film at the "rotten" end of things. Complaints against the Perry movie were multitudinous, ranging from critiques of the acting to the film having too many tonal shifts. The Guardian's Andrew Lawrence went so far as to call Divorce in the Black the director's "worst film to date." While some critics maintained that Divorce in the Black boasted solid performances, even that could not save the Rotten Tomatoes failure.

The audience's perceptions are more mixed about the film. Similarly to select critics, numerous audience enjoyed the main performances in Divorce in the Black. Other than that common refrain, there were a smattering of polar opposite reviews, with some audiences saying they appreciated the storyline and others feeling unsatisfied. Like the critics, audiences also found the main characters in Divorce in the Black lacking development.

Divorce In The Black's Poor Reviews Don't Bode Well For Perry

The Director Has A Number of Projects

Not only is Divorce in the Black a poor example of Perry's career, but it does not bode well for the creators' projects. Divorce in the Black is part of a four-film deal between Perry and Amazon Studios that was formed back in late 2022. This means that more projects between him and the production company are underway.

Tyler Perry's other announced films in the deal include Joy Ridge and Black, White & Blue.

This Rotten Tomatoes struggle may not bode well for Perry's future with the service. While the deal makes it such that the other movies are unlikely to be cancelled, this does not set Perry on good footing for future streaming with the service. The pressure will now be on for the other movies in his four-film deal, as they will have to perform well to make up for the critical loss of Divorce in the Black. Hopefully, these movies will be better received when they are released.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes