411 Box Office Report: Bad Boys: Ride Or Die Soars To #1 With $56 Million

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence returned to the top of the box office, with Bad Boys: Ride Or Die dominating the competition. The fourth film in the action franchise claimed the #1 spot with a $56 million gross. That’s a strong start for the film, surpassing the $50 million gross that was expected heading into the weekend. It’s the second-highest start for the series, behind only Bad Boys For Life’s $62.5 million opening in January of 2020.

The opening is a welcome one for the box office, repping the best start for a film since Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes opened to $58.4 million a month ago and the fifth-highest start of 2024. The opening comes thanks to a dearth of strong competition and solid buzz; while Ride Or Die’s critic average is just “fine” at a 64% aggregated score on Rotten Tomatoes, the word of mouth has been exceptional with a 97% RT audience rating and an A- CinemaScore.

There was some speculation as to whether Ride Or Die would be affected by Will Smith’s infamous Oscar slap, but that is obviously not the case. Audiences have clearly moved past that, at least in terms of keeping them from going to the box office, and anticipation was pretty strong for this film. It’s also performing well overseas where it has $48.6 million in 60 markets with a few still left to go for $104.6 million worldwide.

Ride Or Die is well primed to be a hit at this point, even against a $100 million budget. The film ran very similar in holds throughout the weekend to what Bad Boys For Life did. That film legged out to $204.4 million domestically and while Ride or Die won’t hit that mark, it should be able to leg out to around $170 million or more. Add in the international grosses and you have a hit for Sony Pictures once all is said and done.

Garfield: The Movie was down a spot to #2, bringing in $10 million in its third weekend. The CGI-animated film was down a very good 29% from last weekend, bringing its totals to $68.6 million domestically and a stellar $192.7 million worldwide against a $60 million budget. The family film is easily a hit and should still be able to top $90 million by the end of its domestic run. Like Bad Boys: Ride or Die, this is a Sony Pictures success.

IF continues to hold very well, as the Ryan Reynolds-led firm eased just 24% from last weekend to bring in $8 million. The family comedy has reached $93.5 million in the US and $160.7 million worldwide. It isn’t yet profitable against its $100 million production budget plus marketing, but it should be able to at least get close as it’s looking at around $110 million or more domestically.

Horror fell flat this weekend as Watchers was soft at #4. Ishana Night Shyamalan’s directorial debut brought in just $7 million, a far cry below its expected mid-teens opening. It’s an ignominious start for the film, which is produced by Shyamalan’s father M. Night Shyamalan.

Warner Bros. Pictures put their marketing machine behind this horror flick, which had an attention-grabbing set of trailers that placed it in the spotlight. But it failed to lure in movie-goers, and is unlikely to have any kind of strong holds going on with a 29% RT critic score – not to mention a low 52% RT audience score and a C- CinemaScore. Horror films can certainly be critic-proof, but every metric suggests that this won’t last in theaters.

This is not good for Warner Bros. at any level. While M. Night Shyamalan self-financed the film (as he does for all of his own movies), the studio paid a reported $30 million before marketing. With a low $4.7 million internationally for a $11.7 million worldwide start, there’s little chance of it making back that cost. It seems likely to finish out at less than $30 million domestically.

Kingdom Of Planet of the Apes was down 40% in its fifth weekend to gross $5.4 million. 20th Century Studios’ latest film in the series is now at $149.8 million domestically and $359.8 million worldwide, a major money maker against a $160 million budget. It looks to be close out in the $165 million to $170 million range in the US.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga slid 61% in its third weekend to gross $4.2 million. The Mad Max: Fury Road prequel’s prospects for profit are essentially done, with $58.7 million domestically and $144.4 million worldwide against a $168 million budget. The closing domestic number looks likely to be around $70 million or so.

The Fall Guy was down just 35% in its sixth weekend with $2.7 million. The action romcom has now tallied up $85.1 million domestically and $165.6 million worldwide, fighting to minimize its losses against a $125 million budget. It should be able to hit around $95 million domestically.

The first two Lord of the Rings films returned to theaters (and the top 10) for extended edition screenings. First up was The Fellowship of the Ring, which brought in $2.4 million via Warner Bros. and Fathom Events. That’s way more than expected but shows how audiences still have a lot of love for the landmark franchise. The films will also be in theaters next weekend; this weekend pushed Fellowship’s numbers to $318 million domestically and $893.7 million.

Meanwhile, The Two Towers grossed $1.9 million, also of course through WB and Fathom. Its totals are now $344.5 million domestically and $921.1 million worldwide.

The Strangers: Chapter 1 closed out the top 10 with $1.8 million, down 50% in its fourth weekend. The first part in the horror reboot trilogy now stands at $32.2 million domestically and $36 million worldwide, profitable against an $8 million budget. The film is looking at an endgame of around $35 million in the US.

Next weekend will get a new #1 as Pixar unleashes Inside Out 2. The animated film is looking at around $80 million or so. Meanwhile, Focus Features’ The Bikeriders is aiming at around $10 million or so.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. Bad Boys: Ride Or Die – $56 million ($56 million total, $104.6 million WW)
2. The Garfield Movie – $10 million ($68.6 million total, $192.7 million WW)
3. IF – $8 million ($93.5 million total, $160.7 million WW)
4. Watchers – $7 million ($7 million total, $11.7 million WW)
5. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes – $5.4 million ($149.8 million total, $359.8 million WW)
6. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – $4.2 million ($58.7 million total, $144.4 million WW)
7. The Fall Guy – $2.7 million ($85.1 million total, $165.6 million WW)
8. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – $2.4 million ($318 million total, $893.7 million WW)
9. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers – $1.9 million ($344.5 million total, $921.1 million WW)
10. The Strangers: Chapter 1 – $1.8 million ($32.2 million total, $36 million WW)