Moviegoers sent Will Smith a clear message over the weekend: We forgive you.
“Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” the fourth installment in the Sony Pictures franchise — and Mr. Smith’s first major release since he slapped Chris Rock at the Academy Awards in 2022 — grossed about $53 in U.S. ticket sales million US dollars Canada, according to Sony. This No. 1 finish was a career milestone for Mr. Smith: his resume now includes 15 first-place finishes as a leading actor.
“Ride or Die,” which returned Mr. Smith to one of his signature roles, cost an estimated $100 million, excluding marketing. It received positive reviews, with many critics mentioning a comedic moment that appeared to reference Mr. Smith’s behavior at the 2022 Oscars: Mr. Smith is slapped and called a “bad boy” by his co-star Martin Lawrence.
Ticket buyers gave the R-rated “Ride or Die” an A-minus in CinemaScore final polls. The audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes was 97 percent positive as of Saturday.
Pre-release surveys tracking audience interest had suggested that “Ride or Die” would achieve ticket sales of about $45 million in North America. Sony was hoping for at least $30 million.
Hollywood as a whole wasn’t sure what to expect. For a variety of reasons – too few films, films that didn’t appeal to a wide audience, changing consumer habits – the summer box office was on hold.
And whether Mr. Smith was able to save the day was unclear. His most recent film, Emancipation, released in a limited number of theaters and on Apple TV+ in late 2022, was largely ignored. The Q Scores Company, which measures the popularity of celebrities and brands, found in January that 19 percent of survey respondents viewed Mr. Smith favorably, compared with 39 percent just before the 2022 Oscars.
The slap was only part of the problem. Mr. Smith returned to the Oscar stage a few minutes later to accept the best actor award, and instead of apologizing to Mr. Rock, he gave a defiant speech. He then attended the Vanity Fair party and danced to “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It,” his 1998 hit, as if nothing had happened.
Mr Smith has since apologized repeatedly.
Sony’s advertising campaign for “Ride or Die” was notable for its reliance on Mr. Smith. Instead of hiding the star, the studio did the opposite and made him seem ubiquitous with a promotional tour that took him to eight cities in twelve days – don’t worry. Mr. Smith also took part in numerous marketing stunts, including arriving at the film’s Los Angeles premiere on the roof of a double-decker bus while singing “Miami,” his other 1998 hit.
Strong initial ticket sales for “Ride or Die” fell short of those for the previous installment in the franchise, “Bad Boys for Life,” which brought in $62.5 million in the first three days of 2020, or about $76 million -dollar after taking inflation into account. “Bad Boys for Life” benefited from pent-up demand and was released 17 years after “Bad Boys II.” The franchise started in 1995.
Sony also had the weekend’s No. 2 film, “The Garfield Movie,” which grossed an estimated $10.3 million, for a three-week domestic total of nearly $70 million.
“The Watchers,” a horror film from New Line, part of Warner Bros., came in third, selling nearly $7 million in tickets. According to Deadline, an entertainment news site, “The Watchers” cost $30 million to produce, not including marketing. It was directed by Ishana Night Shyamalan and produced by her father, horror maestro M. Night Shyamalan.
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2024-06-09 15:33:44
www.nytimes.com
