“Bad Boys: Ride or Die” surpassed the $100 million mark globally in its first weekend of release.
The fourth installment in Sony’s buddy cop comedy series, starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, has collected $104.6 million, including $48.6 million at the international box office. Moviegoers have embraced Smith’s first major film since he assaulted Chris Rock on stage at the 2022 Oscars, though it helped that he returned to theaters with a franchise that has endured over 30 years.
Sony spent $100 million to produce “Bad Boys 4” and many millions more to market the film to global audiences. At this rate, the fourquel is well positioned in its theatrical run. However, it remains to be seen if it’ll match 2020’s “Bad Boys for Life” as the franchise’s highest-grossing installment with $206 million domestically and $426 million globally. Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah returned to direct “Ride or Die,” which follows detectives Mike and Marcus as they investigate corruption within the Miami Police Department. But after a setup turns them into fugitives, the duo is forced to work outside the law to solve a case. Smith also produced the film with Jerry Bruckheimer, who worked on the three prior installments.
The fourth “Bad Boys” also topped the domestic box office with $56 million. Outside of North America, the film enjoyed the biggest start in the United Kingdom with $4.9 million over five days, followed by Mexico with $4.2 million. Other top-earning territories are Saudi Arabia with $3.7 million and Germany with $3.7 million over five days. It has yet to be released in Italy, Japan or China.
This weekend’s other newcomer, the Dakota Fanning-led supernatural horror film “The Watchers,” faltered with $4.7 million from 65 overseas markets. It also stumbled domestically with $7 million for a soft $11.7 million global start. Ishana Night Shyamalan, the daughter of filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, directed “The Watchers” for Warner Bros. It was poorly received by critics and audiences, who saddled the film with a “C-” CinemaScore and 29% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Elsewhere, Sony’s animated “The Garfield Movie” had another strong showing with $15.3 million from international markets, bringing its tally to $124.1 million overseas and $192.7 million globally. Chris Pratt voices the famous orange cat who hates Mondays in “Garfield,” which cost a modest $60 million to produce.
Another holdover, the Warner Bros. sci-fi prequel “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” added $13.7 million from 78 markets over the weekend. The film, starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth, has grossed $85.7 million internationally and $144.4 million globally. With its $168 million price tag, however, the R-rated movie has a steep path to profitability in its theatrical run.
Source Agencies
