The iconic duo is back in action. Sony and Columbia’s latest installment, “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” launched with a robust $21.6 million from 3,885 theaters on its first day, including preview showings. This figure is bolstered by revenues from Imax and other premium large format screens.
Directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, the action-packed sequel is now on track to reach a $53 million opening weekend in North America. Sony had conservatively projected a $30 million debut, significantly underestimating compared to industry forecasts of $45 million to $50 million. This cautious prediction may have stemmed from recent underperformances of other high-profile summer releases like “The Fall Guy” and “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.”
“Ride or Die” is expected to fall short of the $62.5 million domestic opening of its predecessor, 2020’s “Bad Boys for Life.” Despite pandemic lockdowns shortly after its release, “Bad Boys for Life” finished strong with $204 million domestically, becoming the highest-grossing North American release of that year.
With a production budget of $100 million, “Ride or Die” aims for similar success. This marks Will Smith’s first wide release since the controversial Oscars incident, where he slapped Chris Rock before winning Best Actor for “King Richard.” Despite the incident, audience reception for Smith remains positive, with CinemaScore giving “Ride or Die” an “A-” rating.
In “Ride or Die,” Smith and Martin Lawrence reprise their roles as Detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett, now on a mission to clear their late captain’s name (Joe Pantoliano). The film also features Vanessa Hudgens, Tiffany Haddish, Alexander Ludwig, and DJ Khaled. Since Michael Bay’s original “Bad Boys” debut in 1995, the franchise has grossed over $800 million globally.
Elsewhere at the box office, Warner Bros.’ thriller “The Watchers” earned $2.9 million on its opening day, adding to a trend of underwhelming performances for horror films this year. Directed by Ishana Night Shyamalan in her feature debut, the film has received poor reviews and a “C-” CinemaScore, dimming its prospects for a strong run.
Sony’s “The Garfield Movie” continues to perform steadily, pulling in $2.8 million on Friday, just a 27% drop from the previous week, and is expected to reach $68 million domestically by Sunday. Paramount’s family-friendly “IF” shows strong staying power, with a projected $8.1 million for the weekend, set to surpass $90 million domestic by Saturday, and eyeing a finish above $100 million.
Finally, “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” from 20th Century Studios added another $1.4 million on Friday, pushing its total past the $146 million domestic mark of its 2017 predecessor, “War for the Planet of the Apes.”
