Tyler Perry’s “The Six Triple Eight” is not only his most-watched Netflix movie to date — with 52.4 million views over its first four weeks on the streamer — but the historical drama has also boosted viewership for his other films on the service.
Netflix tells Variety that eyeballs on Perry’s four other Netflix films (2024’s “Mea Culpa,” 2022’s “A Jazzman’s Blues,” 2022’s “A Madea Homecoming” and 2020’s “A Fall from Grace”) increased by more than 45% since “The Six Triple Eight” began streaming on Dec. 20. Plus, the film reached the Top 10 in more than 85 countries, the most of any film he’s made for the streamer.
It stands to reason that viewership numbers like these were what Netflix and Perry had in mind when the two parties entered into a multi-year first-look film deal in 2023. Perry, famous for his volume as a producer, has also turned the titles around swiftly compared to other overall creators at Netflix. His deal expanded last year to include series like “Beauty in Black,” which surged to the top of the Netflix TV chart in October, as well as to produce faith-based films in partnership with producer DeVon Franklin.
Written, directed and produced by Perry, “The Six Triple Eight” reveals the untold story of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, the only troop of Black women and women of color to serve in Europe during World War II. Kerry Washington executive produced and stars as the troop’s commander Major Charity Adams, who led the battalion of 855 women as they contributed to the war effort in a critical way — by sorting through a three-year backlog of mail (17 million pieces of it) and dramatically improving morale. The film’s ensemble cast also features Ebony Obsidian (who portrays Lena Derricott King, a member of the 6888 whose story of love and loss inspired Perry’s screenplay), as well as Susan Sarandon, Dean Norris, Sam Waterston and Oprah Winfrey.
In an interview with Variety in December, Perry explained why he was hesitant to take on the project when producer Nicole Avant approached him to direct.
“I’m thinking, ‘Wait, you want me to do a World War II movie?’” Perry said, recalling his surprise at the pitch. “But she had seen some pieces of ‘A Jazzman’s Blues’ and she said, ‘Yes, you can do this.’”
The 2022 period drama marked a turning point for Perry; he’d written the screenplay for that film in 1995, but it took him 27 years to make it. Then, while directing the movie, Perry says he “fell in love with filmmaking — the lighting and the whole process of it all — for the first time.” And armed with that experience, he felt prepared to take on the challenge of “The Six Triple Eight.”
“When Nicole brought this to me, and I saw these women and I felt the power of the story, I had to honor it and do it right,” Perry said of the way the filmmakers painstakingly recreated the time, including a remarkable piece of archival footage where the battalion marched through the streets upon arriving overseas. (He enlisted choreographer Debbie Allen to ensure there wasn’t a foot out of place.)
“Every detail had to matter because of what happened to these women and how they were discarded,” he explained. “To take the moment to be able to honor them and give them their flowers, to let them know what you did mattered. I was focused in every detail of every moment, because that’s where the love is. I wanted to make sure that that in heaven, they’re smiling.”
The $70 million budgeted film was Perry’s largest scale production to date, filming at his eponymous studio in Atlanta (a former U.S. Army base that doubled for Fort Oglethorpe’s training ground) and on location in London (which was a first for the filmmaker). While the film was Perry’s most expensive to date (though on par with other World War II-set movies ranging from “Saving Private Ryan” to “Inglorious Basterds”), it’s also garnered some of his strongest reviews.
“Impressive in both its subject and suggested scope, Perry’s sweeping film reflects how the achievement of these women directly impacted the troops’ morale, despite the adversity they faced from skeptical superior officers,” wrote Variety chief film critic Peter Debruge in his review. “Following in the footsteps of ‘Hidden Figures’ while honoring those who paved the way for such progress in other fields, ‘The Six Triple Eight’ gives Perry his best and most substantial feature to date.”
Another first for Perry was the multi-city international tour Netflix planned to launch the film, with stops in London, Paris, Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta and Washington D.C. The promotional campaign focused on military and veterans groups and students, including the USO, with highlights including the film’s world premiere in Los Angeles; a special screening at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.; and a visit to Arlington National Cemetery where Perry, Washington and Obsidian laid flowers at some of the 6888 members’ graves, presented a wreath in their honor to the Tomb of the Unknown Solider and observed the Changing of the Guard.
With a film’s success also measured in awards this time of year, “The Six Triple Eight” also nabbed five NAACP Image Award nominations, including outstanding motion picture.
The “Six Triple Eight” is produced by Perry; Avant for Her Excellency Productions; Keri Selig for Intuition Productions; Carlota Espinosa; Angi Bones and Tony Strickland for Tyler Perry Studios. Mandalay Pictures’ Peter Guber executive produces the project alongside Washington.
