Though Tyler says he's thrilled Madea Goes to Jail is doing so well, he tries not to pay attention to the box office predictions or ratings. "All I wanted to do—especially right now, with everything that is going on in this country—is make a film that we can go out, laugh, forget about it for an hour and a half and enjoy ourselves," he says. "So that's what was important to me—to see that so many people saw it, to see that it's doing very well, means that I get to make another one."

When it comes to movie reviews, Tyler says he avoids them at all costs. "I sat in a show at the Kodak Theatre, and there were two reviewers in the same row, both saw the same show," he says. "One loved it; one hated it. Great review in one paper; awful review in the next. And I knew that it was about experiences."