Tyler Perry is a household name in the United States, where his movies have made nearly a billion dollars. But in Britain, he is known mainly for playing the lawyer to Ben Affleck’s accused husband in “Gone Girl” — if he is known at all.

Some of the movies Mr. Perry has written and directed have received small international openings, most often in South Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Only one or two ever got anything close to a European theatrical push.

“I fought for it, I asked for it,” Mr. Perry said. But often he gets the same response: “Stories with black people don’t travel, don’t translate.”

For years, minority filmmakers have pushed Hollywood studios and distributors to get over a reluctance to promote their films worldwide. They are hoping that 2018 was the tipping point they have been waiting for.