UPDATE: 2025-06-03 07:34 EST BY BRENNAN KLEIN
Bad Boys: Ride or Die Exceeds Expectations With Improved Sunday Projections and a Solid International Gross
This article was originally written Saturday AM and has been updated Sunday AM with altered box office projections (in bold), a full chart, and further analysis.
Summary
Bad Boys: Ride or Diehas exceeded box office expectations in its opening weekend. The movie is the fourth installment in the action-comedy franchise, which kicked off in 1995 and follows the continued adventures of Miami Police Department detectives Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence). TheBad Boys: Ride or Diereleasecomes four years after the previous entry earned $426.5 million in theaters, becoming the highest-grossing movie in the franchise, in addition to being the third highest-grossing movie of 2020 worldwide.
PerDeadline, the projected 3-day opening weekend domestic gross forBad Boys: Ride or Dieas of Sunday morning is$56 million. This has far exceeded the movie’s original expectations from distributor Sony Pictures Releasing, who previously posted debut projections of just $30 million. In addition to nearly doubling that original number, this opening weekend total gives the new moviethe second-highest 3-day debut of the franchise so far, behindBad Boys for Life. Globally, it has earned$104.6 million, already making back its $100 million budget in just three days.
The Rest Of The Weekend’s Box Office Top 5 Has Been Shaken Up
Because of its propulsive start out of the gate, theBad Boys: Ride or Diebox officehas naturallyclaimed the No. 1 slot on the weekend’s domestic box office chart. Although its current projections could potentially rise even higher once the numbers are fully calculated on Monday, for the time being, it has blasted past the No. 2 title, which was the animated Chris Pratt holdover hitThe Garfield Movie, by a difference of more than $45 million. Sony now secures the top two spots at the box office, asThe Garfield Movieis in its third weekend with a total domestic gross of $68.5 million.
Below, see the full domestic Top 5 chart, featuring the most up-to-date Sunday morning projections:
1
Bad Boys: Ride or Die
$56 million
$56 million (weekend 1)
2
$10 million
$68.6 million (weekend 3)
3
$8 million
$93.5 million (weekend 4)
4
$7 million
$7 million (weekend 1)
5
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
$5.5 million
$149 million (weekend 5)
Elsewhere on the chart, the new horror movieThe Watchersdebuted at No. 4 with $7 million. It boasts a thoroughly Rotten 29% score on Rotten Tomatoes, which may account for this poor chart performance. However, the movie likely has a significantly lower budget thanBad Boys, which means it has a shorter road to success than the Will Smith action blockbuster. With these new movies debuting, two titles have naturally fallen off the chart, withThe Fall Guybeing bumped out of its No. 5 position andFuriosa: A Mad Max Sagaplummeting from last week’s No. 3 slot.
There has been a lot of movement in the rest of the Top 5, with these two new titles shaking up the status quo considerably. WhileThe Garfield Moviemaintains its position in the Top 2, it has fallen back to No. 2 after taking No.1 the weekend after it made its domestic debut behind Memorial Day’s No. 1 opening,Furiosa. This movement bumped last week’s No. 2 title,IF, to No. 3, whileKingdom of the Planet of the Apesfell slightly as well, going from No. 4 to No. 5 in its fifth weekend.
May 2024 Was Rocked By Theatrical Disappointments
TheRide or Diebox office is so farone of the first major success stories of the 2024 summer movie season, which loosely runs from May through July. It is no small feat for the new movie’s opening weekend to rank so highly among the popular franchise, which has had a string of successful hits through the decades since its inception. Below, see how the new movie’s opening weekend compares to the debuts and the overall worldwide box office totals of the previousBad Boysmovies:
$15.5 million
$141.4 million
$46.5 million
$273.3 million
$62.5 million
$426.5 million
Bad Boys: Ride or Die(2024)
~$56 million
TBD
This success, which could be the result of theBad Boys: Ride or Diecastbringing back many long-running legacy characters, is a much-needed balm for the box office after a rough May. Although the month featured blockbuster tentpoles, includingFuriosa: A Mad Max Saga,The Garfield Movie,The Fall Guy, andIF,onlyKingdom of the Planet of the Apesproved to be a summer-sized hitwith its $342.2 million gross. The performance of the other movies has ranged from decent to lukewarm to outright grim, withFuriosaandThe Fall Guyboth struggling to make their budgets back.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Sagacost $168 million whileThe Fall Guycost between $125 and $150 million.
However,Bad Boys: Ride or Diecould be a portent of better things to come. While the post-strike Hollywood slate is still somewhat thin, leading to a relatively quiet weekend on June 21, things could still be looking up. With the Pixar sequelInside Out 2set to premiere next weekend before June closes out with the blockbuster horror sequelA Quiet Place: Day One, it is possible that the June box office could look much healthier than the previous month.
Cast
Bad Boys: Ride or Die continues the action-packed saga of Miami detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett. The film follows the duo as they face new threats and personal challenges, blending intense action scenes with the camaraderie fans have come to love in the Bad Boys series.
