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Will Smith’s latest action filmBad Boys: Ride or Dieseems to have hit it big at the box office. The fourth installment of the action film franchise which made Smith a star reportedly had a great opening weekend of $104 million at the international box office. The film also starred Martin Lawrence, Vanessa Hudgens, and Eric Dane in lead roles.
The film is Smith’s first release since 2022’sEmancipation, which was on the heels of the infamous slap at the 2022 Oscars. Will Smith was banned from attending the ceremony and he even resigned from the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences. However,Bad Boys: Ride or Die’s box office performance implies that the slap was not as big of a career-ender.
Will Smith Wins Big At The Box Office WithBad Boys: Ride or Die
Will Smithhad his Hollywood breakthrough when he starred in back-to-back action blockbustersIndependence DayandBad Boys. The latter, which was Michael Bay’s directorial debut was known for its stylized action sequences and Smith and Martin Lawrence’s chemistry. The buddy cop film earned$141 million at the box office.
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The success of the film spawned three more films in the franchise, which arrived at irregular intervals. Seventeen years afterBad Boys II, the duo returned to the franchise withBad Boys for Life, which was a huge success. The 2020 film saw Smith and Lawrence, as well as multiple new actors such as Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, and Paola Núñez.
The success led to a fourth film being greenlit, with the same directors Adil & Bilal set to return. After multiple delays due to the pandemic and other issues,Bad Boys: Ride or Diefinally released earlier this week and seems to have hit it big. According toDeadline, the film had a wonderful domestic opening of $56 million in the US.
Deadline reported that the impressive box office opening ofBad Boys: Ride or Dieis the highest for an R-rated film since last year’sOppenheimer. The figures included the box office collections of the Thursday night previews as well. The success of the film has also brought forth the opinion that Will Smith’s Oscar slap did not derail his career as it was predicted.
Will Smith Survives Oscars Slapgate WithBad Boys: Ride or Die
The first weekend collections at the international box office for Will Smith’sBad Boys: Ride or Diehave reportedly amounted to $104 million (viaThe Numbers). This makes it one of the biggest openings of the Summer, which was seeing a bit of struggle from projected hits such asThe Full GuyandFuriosa: A Mad Max Saga.
The success ofBad Boys 4has also proved that Will Smith’s career has survived his infamous controversy at the 2022 Oscars. The actor famously slapped stand-up comic and host Chris Rock at the ceremony after the latter made a joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith’s hair.
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The slap became international news, which escalated after Smith won the Oscar for Best Actor at the same ceremony forKing Richard. The actor resigned from the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences and was banned from attending any of the events of the Academy for a decade. He even issued a public apology.
Smith’s slap also affected his career at the time. The sequel to Netflix’sBrightwith Smith was reportedly canceled after the incident and his follow-up filmEmanicaptaionhad only a limited release before it was pushed to streaming (viaComic Book). EvenBad Boys: Ride or Diewas paused for a bit due to the controversy before being greenlit again (viaIndieWire).
Nishanth A
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2417
Nishanth A is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on TV shows with over 2,000 articles published. He has been an entertainment journalist for the past two years and a scriptwriter at various corporations before that, working on educational content. With a Communications, English Literature, and Psychology triple major, Nishanth usually covers news and analyses on Star Trek, particularly Strange New Worlds and The Next Generation; Doctor Who, the DCU, and more.A Nolan fan, Nishanth spends his time exploring the filmographies of various directors with an auteurial style or can be found making short movies of his own. He has also contributed as a feature writer for Film Companion, focusing on the South division.
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