Sony’s “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” Reignites Summer Box Office with $56M Domestic, $104.6M Global Opening

Sony’s “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” revitalised the summer box office with a strong domestic opening of $56 million and $104.6 million globally. This success marks a significant step in Will Smith’s career comeback, following the Oscars incident two years ago.

“Ride or Die” reunites Smith with Martin Lawrence for the fourth installment in Sony’s long-running franchise. The film earned an A- CinemaScore in North America and received generally positive reviews. Notably, 44 percent of the audience was between 18 and 34 years old, indicating Smith’s appeal to younger consumers. Additionally, Black moviegoers made up the largest segment of the audience at 44 percent.

“Ride or Die” is the first summer film to exceed its box office projections, initially estimated to open between $48 million and $50 million. It is also the second largest domestic launch of the season, following “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” which debuted at $58 million domestically. Internationally, “Ride or Die” grossed $48.6 million from 58 markets, achieving 58 percent of “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” in comparable markets. It earned $19.3 million in Europe and set franchise records in Latin America and the Middle East.

The $100 million film follows “Bad Boys for Life,” which opened to $62 million domestically in January 2022 and earned $426 million globally before pandemic-related theater closures. The series is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. In “Ride or Die,” Smith and Lawrence reprise their roles as Miami cops Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett, who must clear their late captain’s name after he is linked to drug cartels. The film is directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (credited as Adil & Bilall) and written by Chris Bremner and Will Beall.

This release marks Smith’s first major theatrical push since the 2022 Oscars incident with Chris Rock, which is subtly referenced in the film. The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Smith’s agents at CAA have recently contacted studio executives to explore new projects, aiming to announce his next film soon if “Ride or Die” performs well.

It was a good weekend for Sony Pictures Motion Group CEO Tom Rothman, whose studio also secured the second box office spot with “The Garfield Movie.” This modestly budgeted film earned an additional $10 million domestically and $15.3 million overseas, bringing its global total to nearly $200 million against a net budget of $60 million before marketing.

John Krasinski and Paramount’s original fantasy comedy “IF” continued to perform well, placing third domestically with $8 million. Internationally, it earned another $6.2 million, bringing its global total to $160.7 million.

“Ishana Night Shyamalan’s “The Watchers” opened in fourth place, grossing $7 million. The supernatural thriller, produced by M. Night Shyamalan, has generated significant interest.

Disney and 20th Century’s “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” rounded out the top five with $5.4 million, bringing its global total to $359.8 million, the best of the summer so far.