It has been an uneven year at the box office, with releases like Dune Part 2 finding success while The Fall Guy struggled to get any momentum going. Bad Boys: Ride or Die appears to be falling into the former category as the film has gotten off to a strong start, with even Will Smith finding a way to celebrate with fans.
Despite the relatively uneven year, Bad Boys: Ride or Die is poised for a big opening weekend with the action-comedy estimated to gross roughly $53 million at the domestic box office, according to Deadline. Some analysts believed it may not hit this due to the disappointing performances of several tentpole releases including Furiosa and The Fall Guy, but with Bad Boys' strong opening, there is a belief it is the first sign the market may be starting to rebound.
Bad Boys' success wasn't limited to the domestic box office, though, as the film reportedly grossed another $48.6 million internationally to bring its worldwide opening haul to roughly $104.6 million.
A Pleasant Surprise
The film's looming success was noticed by none other than Will Smith, who decided to sneakily surprise fans in attendance at a Los Angeles screening on Friday afternoon. He went to an afternoon screening in a mask to remain hidden from the audience before revealing himself to the shock and joy everyone walking out of the theater, according to TMZ.
Smith admitted it was a “ritual” he has for his films where he will attend public screenings during their opening weekend and enjoy it with regular moviegoers.
The strong box office performance was backed with positive receptions from audiences and mixed to positive reviews from critics. The general consensus was that for as nonsensical as the film can be, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence's chemistry remains as strong as ever and helps carry the film.
Analyst outlet RelishMix, via Deadline, pointed to online fan chatter about the film and how most were excited to see Smith back in this kind of fun action film after slapping Chris Rock at the 94th Academy Awards in 2022, indicating that fans were keen to forgive Smith for the incident.
Whatcha Gonna Do?
The strong opening weekend also makes Bad Boys: Ride or Die the second best opening in franchise history, with 2020's Bad Boys for Life holding the number one spot with $62.2 million over the same three-day period.
Bad Boys: Ride or Die picks up several years after the end of the third film, with Miami PD Detectives Mike Lowery and Marcus Burnett still going strong as two of the city's premiere officers. However, things are thrown into chaos when accusations emerge against their late-former Captain Conrad Howard claiming he was corrupt and working with several notable drug cartels. The two detectives set out to prove his innocence before finding themselves victims of the same conspiracy and fugitives on the run with barely anyone who can help them.
Bad Boys: Ride or Die is in theaters.
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