Collection of movies on DVD for a Tyler Perry Madea movie marathon

Tyler Perry's Madea Movies and Plays in Order (Complete DVD Guide)

October 9, 2026

Updated October 2026

The Short Answer

To watch the Madea movies in order, start with Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005), then Madea's Family Reunion (2006), Meet the Browns (2008), Madea Goes to Jail (2009), I Can Do Bad All by Myself (2009), Madea's Big Happy Family (2011), Madea's Witness Protection (2012) and A Madea Christmas (2013). After that come Madea's Tough Love (2015), Boo! A Madea Halloween (2016), Boo 2! A Madea Halloween (2017), A Madea Family Funeral (2019), and three Netflix films: A Madea Homecoming (2022), Madea's Destination Wedding (2025) and Joe's College Road Trip (2026).

The stories are mostly standalone, so release order matters less than it does for a true series. It does help with the recurring family, though: Madea, her brother Joe, her nephew Brian and his son B.J. grow and change across the films. Tyler Perry also filmed many of his original stage plays, and those Madea plays are their own collection, listed further down.

You can find the Madea DVDs we have in stock in our Comedy DVD collection, and everything else in the full DVD and movie shop.

In this guide:

The Madea Movies in Release Order
The Later Madea Movies (2015 to 2026)
Tyler Perry's Madea Stage Plays in Order
Where to Start If You Are New to Madea
Are the Madea Movies Family-Friendly?
Other Tyler Perry Movies on DVD
Frequently Asked Questions
Keep reading

The Madea Movies in Release Order

These are the eight Madea films released in theaters between 2005 and 2013, all widely available on DVD. Each is written by and stars Tyler Perry, who plays Madea (and usually her brother Joe as well).

Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005) - Rated PG-13

Madea's first movie. Kimberly Elise plays Helen, whose wealthy husband (Steve Harris) throws her out after 18 years of marriage, and she lands at her grandmother Madea's house. It is more drama than comedy. Content note: emotional and physical abuse in a marriage, language, and some drug references.

Madea's Family Reunion (2006) - Rated PG-13

Madea hosts a family reunion while juggling a court-ordered foster child and two nieces with very different troubles. Maya Angelou and Cicely Tyson both appear. Content note: domestic violence and a past sexual assault are part of the story.

Meet the Browns (2008) - Rated PG-13

Angela Bassett stars as a single mother who travels to Georgia for the funeral of the father she never knew and meets his loud, loving family, led by Mr. Brown (David Mann). Madea appears only briefly, in a comic car chase. Content note: gang violence and drug dealing in the lead character's neighborhood.

Madea Goes to Jail (2009) - Rated PG-13

After one too many run-ins with the law, Madea is finally sent to prison, where she crosses paths with a young woman (Keshia Knight Pulliam) struggling with addiction. Derek Luke plays the lawyer trying to help her. Content note: drug addiction, prostitution and jail violence.

I Can Do Bad All by Myself (2009) - Rated PG-13

Taraji P. Henson plays a nightclub singer who reluctantly takes in her niece and nephews after Madea catches them breaking into her house. Gladys Knight and Mary J. Blige appear, and the music is a highlight. Content note: alcoholism, an attempted assault on a teenager, and language.

Madea's Big Happy Family (2011) - Rated PG-13

Madea helps her niece Shirley (Loretta Devine) gather her grown children, who cannot stop fighting, to share news about her health. Content note: serious illness, family conflict and some drug references.

Madea's Witness Protection (2012) - Rated PG-13

A Wall Street executive (Eugene Levy) and his family are hidden in Madea's Atlanta home after he is caught up in a mob fraud scheme. Denise Richards co-stars. This is one of the lighter entries and one of the easiest for newcomers. Content note: crude humor and mild language.

A Madea Christmas (2013) - Rated PG-13

Madea tags along with her niece to surprise her daughter at a small Alabama town for Christmas and finds the daughter has been keeping secrets. Kathy Najimy and Larry the Cable Guy co-star. Content note: crude humor, some language, and a subplot about racial tension.

The Later Madea Movies (2015 to 2026)

Madea kept going after A Madea Christmas, though the later films lean harder into broad comedy and less into the family drama of the early ones.

Madea's Tough Love (2015) - an animated movie released straight to home video.
Boo! A Madea Halloween (2016), rated PG-13 - Madea is roped into keeping an eye on Brian's teenage daughter on Halloween night.
Boo 2! A Madea Halloween (2017), rated PG-13 - the same crew heads to a lakeside campground with a spooky reputation.
A Madea Family Funeral (2019), rated PG-13 - a family anniversary turns into a funeral. Perry announced at the time that he was retiring the character after this film and the farewell stage tour.
A Madea Homecoming (2022) - Madea came back for this Netflix movie about a college graduation. It was released on Netflix without an MPAA rating and has the franchise's usual adult language and drug humor.
Madea's Destination Wedding (2025), rated PG-13 - a second Netflix film, with a family wedding in the Bahamas.
Joe's College Road Trip (2026) - a Netflix film released in February 2026, centered on Joe, with Perry again playing Madea as well. It is the most recent Madea appearance as of this writing.

The three Netflix films premiered on streaming. The eight theatrical films above are the core of any Madea DVD shelf.

Tyler Perry's Madea Stage Plays in Order

Before the movies, Madea was a stage character. Tyler Perry toured his plays to packed theaters and filmed many of them for DVD, and plenty of longtime fans prefer the plays to the films. They are rougher and louder, with more ad-libbing, and nearly every one includes live gospel and R&B songs. Several of the movies are loose remakes of plays with the same names, but the stories and casts differ.

Here are the Madea plays in the order they were first staged:

I Can Do Bad All by Myself (1999)
Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2001)
Madea's Family Reunion (2002)
Madea's Class Reunion (2003)
Madea Goes to Jail (2005)
Madea's Big Happy Family (2010)
A Madea Christmas (2011)
Madea Gets a Job (2012)
Madea's Neighbors from Hell (2013)
Madea on the Run (2017)
Madea's Farewell Play (2019)

One note: the 2004 play Meet the Browns is part of the same world and is often shelved with the Madea plays, but Madea is barely in it, appearing only in a flashback and a recorded phone call. It is a good pick if you love Mr. Brown and Cora.

The filmed plays are not rated. Expect the same kinds of adult themes as the movies, plus some innuendo and a lot of Madea's very loose talk.

Where to Start If You Are New to Madea

If you want the full experience, start with Diary of a Mad Black Woman. It introduces Madea and shows the mix of comedy, family drama and faith that Tyler Perry built the franchise on.

If you just want to laugh, start with Madea's Witness Protection or A Madea Christmas, which are lighter and do not require knowing anyone. For a holiday movie night, A Madea Christmas pairs well with the filmed play of the same name, and it is fun to compare the two.

If you already love the movies, try one of the filmed plays next. I Can Do Bad All by Myself: The Play is a good first pick, since it is where Madea began.

Are the Madea Movies Family-Friendly?

Not for young children. Every theatrical Madea movie is rated PG-13, and several deal with serious subjects like abuse, addiction and infidelity alongside the jokes. Madea herself carries a pistol, threatens people freely, and has a long criminal record played for laughs, and Joe's lines are some of the crudest in the films.

That said, many families watch them together with teens. The films end with forgiveness and reconciliation, often with a sermon or gospel song, and churchgoing families are a big part of the audience. If you are deciding for your household, Madea's Witness Protection and A Madea Christmas are the mildest of the theatrical films; Madea Goes to Jail and I Can Do Bad All by Myself are the heaviest.

Other Tyler Perry Movies on DVD

If you enjoy the Madea films, Tyler Perry's other dramas share the same focus on family, relationships and faith, without Madea:

Why Did I Get Married? (2007), rated PG-13 - four couples on a marriage retreat.
Daddy's Little Girls (2007), rated PG-13 - Idris Elba as a mechanic fighting for custody of his daughters.
Good Deeds (2012), rated PG-13 - Perry plays a buttoned-up businessman whose life changes after meeting a struggling single mother.

You can also browse our Drama DVD collection for more family dramas. Shipping is free on orders over $15, so it is easy to put together a Madea marathon a few discs at a time.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the first Madea movie?

Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005) is the first Madea movie. Madea first appeared on stage in the play I Can Do Bad All by Myself in 1999.

How many Madea movies are there?

Madea appears in 15 feature films through 2026: eight theatrical films from 2005 to 2013, the animated Madea's Tough Love, the two Boo! Halloween movies, A Madea Family Funeral, and three Netflix films.

Do you need to watch the Madea movies in order?

No. Each movie tells its own story. Watching in release order helps you follow recurring characters like Joe, Brian and B.J., but you can start anywhere.

What is the newest Madea movie?

Joe's College Road Trip, released on Netflix in February 2026, is the most recent film featuring Madea as of this writing. Madea's Destination Wedding (2025) came just before it.

Is Madea in Meet the Browns?

Madea has a short comic scene in the 2008 Meet the Browns movie. In the 2004 stage play, she appears only in a flashback and a recorded phone call.

Are the Madea movies appropriate for kids?

The theatrical Madea movies are all rated PG-13 and include adult themes like abuse and addiction. They are better suited to teens and adults than to young children.

What is the difference between the Madea plays and the Madea movies?

The plays are filmed live stage performances with more improvised comedy and live music. Several movies share titles with plays, but the stories and casts are different.