NEW YORK — “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” the fourth installment of the action-comedy series starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, grossed an estimated $56 million during its theatrical weekend, making it Hollywood’s long-awaited summer hit and Smith’s biggest success since slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars.
Expectations for “Ride or Die” were mixed given the weak moviegoing market this summer and the uncertainty surrounding Smith’s box office success, but the Sony Pictures release ultimately performed very close to or slightly above initial projections.
Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, “Ride or Die” marks Smith’s first theatrical release since serving a 10-year Oscar ban for “Slap of Rock” in 2022. The “Bad Boys” film was in development at the time and ultimately went ahead with a production budget of around $100 million.
Smith starred in the Apple-released film “Emancipation,” but that movie, released in late 2022, was filmed before the fine was imposed and only had a small theatrical release before being made available for streaming.
This time around, Smith largely eschewed reflective Oscar interviews, instead embarking on a red-carpet promotional tour from Mexico to Saudi Arabia, where he took part in what was billed as the country’s first Hollywood premiere. Long one of Hollywood’s most bankable stars, the 55-year-old Smith has appeared on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” and the YouTube series “Hot Ones” and made a surprise appearance at a Los Angeles movie theater on Friday.
Considering Bad Boys was trailing behind May’s disappointing releases Furiosa: The Mad Max Saga and The Fall Guy, both of which struggled to gain traction with audiences despite very good reviews, Ride or Die’s opening counts as a major weekend win for the industry.
“The fact that the movie beat box office expectations is great news,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. “For the past few weeks, and pretty much the entire year, with a few exceptions, it seems like all we’ve been doing is figuring out why movies that were seemingly well marketed and well reviewed didn’t do so well at the box office. This is the spark the industry has been waiting for.”
“Ride or Die” still couldn’t match the opening box office success of its “Bad Boys” predecessor, 2020’s “Bad Boys for Life.” Released in January 2020, the film debuted with $62.5 million. It was the highest-grossing North American release that year after the pandemic closed cinemas, grossing $204 million domestically.
“Ride or Die” grossed $48.6 million overseas. Though it received mixed reviews (64% on Rotten Tomatoes), audiences gave the film a high CinemaScore of “A-.” Black moviegoers were the largest demographic, making up 44% of ticket buyers.
Set 29 years after the original, the film sees Smith and Lawrence reprising their roles as Miami detectives as they uncover a conspiracy to frame a deceased police chief (Joe Pantoliano). In one of the film’s most famous scenes, Lawrence slaps Smith and calls him a “bad boy.”
But movie theaters will need more than “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” to get back on track. Ticket sales are down 26% from last year and more than 40% below pre-pandemic totals, according to Comscore. A big test comes next weekend with the release of Pixar’s “Inside Out 2.” After sending several Pixar films straight to Disney+, the studio has vowed to stick to a long, traditional theatrical release this time.
“Garfield the Movie,” which topped last weekend’s box office, dropped to second place. The family-oriented animated comedy, also from Sony, grossed $68.6 million domestically on $10 million in ticket sales in its third weekend.
Another new release, “The Watchers,” which opened nationwide over the weekend, didn’t sit well with moviegoers. Directed by M. Night Shyamalan’s daughter, Ishana Night Shyamalan, the horror film tells the story of a 28-year-old artist stranded in Ireland. Distributed by Warner Bros., the film grossed $7 million from 3,351 theaters despite lackluster reviews from critics.
That helped propel “If,” Ryan Reynolds’ fantasy film about an imaginary friend, to third place in its fourth weekend, helping Paramount Pictures bring in $93.5 million domestically. Rounding out the top five was “Reign of the Planet of the Apes,” which added $5.4 million in its fifth weekend. The film has grossed $150 million domestically and $360 million worldwide.
These are estimates of ticket sales in U.S. and Canadian theaters from Friday through Sunday, according to ComScore. Final domestic figures will be released on Monday.
1. Bad Boys 2, $56 million.
2. “Garfield the Movie” $10 million
3. “If,” $8 million.
4. The Watchers, $7 million
5. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, $5.4 million.
6. Furiosa: Mad Max, $4.2 million.
7. The Fall Guy, $2.7 million
8. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, $2.4 million
9. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, $1.9 million
10. Strangers: Chapter One, $1.8 million
