Will Packer, one of Hollywood’s record-breaking filmmakers, has produced or executive produced a wide range of movies that have grossed more than $1 billion worldwide at the box office, including 10 films that have opened at number one. According to Blackfilm.com, Packer ranks #1 in terms of worldwide box office and studio profit based on the 14 films he has produced over the past decade.
Packer’s newest film “Praise This” premieres on Peacock in April 2023. It stars Chloe Bailey, Druski, Qauvo, among others. His most recent film “Beast” had an international theatrical release date in August 2022. Mr. Packer’s films “Girls Trip” and “Night School” were the highest grossing comedies for 2017 and 2018, respectively. Other films Packer has produced include “The Photograph,” “Little,” “What Men Want,” “Ride Along 2,” “No Good Deed,” “Think Like a Man Too,” “Ride Along,” “Think Like a Man,” “Takers,” “Obsessed,” “Breaking In” and “Stomp the Yard.” Packer also served as an executive producer on the megahit “Straight Outta Compton,” a biopic of the rap group N.W.A that opened number one at the box office and has grossed over $200 million to date. Packer has an overall movie development deal with Universal Studios.
Packer’s television, digital and branded content company, Will Packer Media, produces episodic scripted and unscripted series across television and digital platforms, as well as compelling content for brand clients and short-form digital content for millennial audiences. “Queen’s Court,” a reality dating series starring Tamar Braxton, Evelyn Lozada and Nivea debuts on Peacock in March 2023. Current productions include “Ready to Love” and “Put a Ring On It” (OWN), and “That Girl Lay Lay” (Nickelodeon). Will Packer Media produces scripted and unscripted podcasts with iHeart Media such as “Fight Night,” “The Lower Bottoms,” and IDEA GENERATION’s “All Angles.”
Will Packer Media produced “Bigger” for BET+, the docuseries “Blackballed,” “The Atlanta Child Murders” for Investigation Discovery,” as well as “The Disappearance of the Millbrook Twins” on Oxygen and “Tiffany Haddish Does Shark Week,” and “Shark Trip: Eat. Pray. Chum,” on Discovery’s annual Shark Week programming. Packer also served as the executive producer of the remake of “Roots,” for which he received an Emmy Award nomination, and has executive produced such primetime programming as “Ambitions” (OWN), “Truth be Told” (NBC), “Uncle Buck” (ABC) and “Being Mary Jane” (BET).
Will Packer is a member of the esteemed Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and was selected as the Producer of the 2022 Academy Awards 94th Oscars Ceremony. Packer received a 2022 Emmy Award nomination as Producer, Outstanding Variety Special Live for the 2022 Oscars. He also served as Jury President for the 2021 American Black Film Festival (ABFF.)
Packer has appeared on the covers of multiple magazines and has been featured in several high-profile magazine lists, including Variety‘s “Billion Dollar Producers” and “10 Producers to Watch” and Ebony‘s prestigious “Power 100 List.” In 2018, Will Packer won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Motion Picture for “Girls Trip.” Packer also received a BET Award for Best Movie for “Think Like a Man” in 2013.
An Atlanta resident, Packer serves on the board of the Atlanta Hawks Foundation and is a longtime supporter of HBCU initiatives and a magna cum laude graduate of Florida A&M University, where he holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering. Packer received the Meritorious Achievement Award from Florida A&M, the highest honor the university bestows.