‘Bad Boys: Ride or Die’ Is Absolutely Crushing The Box Office

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Hey, everyone! It’s Ty Cole with another edition of The Culture Catchall. Summertime is here, so the newsletter will hit your inboxes on Tuesdays for a bit. We should all be outside, touching some grass and shaking some… margaritas by the pool on Friday evenings anyway!

Let’s get into the story of the week.

For all the naysayers who thought Will Smith wouldn’t and couldn’t do numbers after that incident, how are you feeling now? “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” is absolutely crushing the box office, proving that Smith and Martin Lawrence — who returned as detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett in the fourth installment of the successful, high-octane franchise — are still a dynamic duo.

The film has shattered Hollywood’s expectations, reminding everyone that these actors are still box-office heavyweights. The movie earned $56 million from 3,885 theaters in its domestic debut and opened with $48.6 million internationally. That put its global total at $104.6 million, surpassing its production budget.

After an interactive press tour and hyping up fans by sharing behind-the-scenes moments, you would think the world would be singing Smith’s praises. Unfortunately, that wasn’t always the case here.

On social media, The Hollywood Reporter shared an article under the title “Box Office Upset: Will Smith’s ‘Bad Boys 4’ Delivers Huge Victory for Actor With $56M U.S. Debut, $104.6M Globally.” The post sparked negative reactions online, with users questioning what was so “upsetting” about the film’s impressive performance.

Naturally, public figures had to weigh in, too. Stephen A. Smith shared