Will Smith surprises ‘Bad Boys: Ride or Die’ audience, while ‘Bad Boys 4’ surprises with massive box office
It was, once again, a Big Willie Weekend.
But for some moviegoers, it involved an act of live theater.
“Bad Boys: Ride or Die” was a massive hit for Sony, and beat all box office projections with a $56 million domestic haul plus an additional $48 million internationally. There were a lot of fingers crossed on this one, considering both the directors and central star had to overcome some setbacks.
For the Belgian helmers Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, it was their first at-bat since David Zaslav had “Batgirl” ash-canned. For Will Smith, it was his first mainstream movie since he lost his cool at the 94th Academy Awards and whapped Chris Rock across the face and barked profanities at him following a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair. (Of course, there was much, much, much more going on beneath the surface there psychologically, but this is not the place to get into it.) Smith’s next picture “Emancipation” for Apple TV+ was already in the can, but “Bad Boys” was the test to see if people would still come out for the Fresh Prince.
And, indeed, they did. Moreover, he came out for them, too. Smith did a li’l unannounced pop-in at a cinema in the Baldwin Hills section of Los Angeles and made sure to catch it all for his social media.
In an edited video you can see him watching his picture from the back row (a KN95 mask keeping him somewhat disguised) while the audience laughs and applauds at his antics with Martin Lawrence. Afterward, you can catch him posing for selfies with laudatory fans (including one or two a bit young for an R-rated film, but we’re not gonna say anything.)
You can check out the video below, and keep an eye on Chris Rock’s Instagram for any commentary.
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