‘Bad Boys’ tops US box office, giving Will Smith a lift

LOS ANGELES: Bad Boys: Ride or Die opened atop the North American box office, marking Will Smith’s first major cinematic hit since his notorious Oscars slap. This indicates that viewers are ready for the actor to return.

According to industry analyst Exhibitor Relations, Sony’s fourth installment of the action comedy series earned an estimated US$56 million, marking a significant milestone in Smith’s career recovery from his 2022 Academy Award slap of Chris Rock.

“The series has room to grow and Bad Boys is in elite company.” “These are very good figures,” Franchise Entertainment Research analyst David A. Gross stated.

The triumph is a pleasant change from Smith’s 2022 action film Emancipation, which bombed at the box office and failed to connect with viewers as an escaped slave during the American Civil War.

With US$10 million in ticket sales from Friday through Sunday, Sony’s family-friendly film The Garfield Movie—starring Chris Pratt as the lazy, lasagna-loving cat—dropped to second place, allowing Bad Boys to take first place.

If from Paramount, which starred Cailey Fleming as a young girl who sets out on an adventure with her neighbour Ryan Reynolds to reunite their children with long-forgotten pretend playmates, came in third place with a total revenue of US$8 million.

At US$7 million, the Warner Bros. horror film The Watchers debuted in fourth place. Meanwhile, 20th Century Fox’s action sci-fi picture Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes came in fifth place with US$5.4 million.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (US$4.2 million)

The Fall Guy (US$2.7 million)

The Strangers: Chapter 1 (US$1.8 million)

Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle (US$820,000)

In A Violent Nature (US$640,000) — AFP