'Bad Boys: Ride or Die' boosts Will Smith's comeback and the box office with $56 million opening

NEW YORK (AP) — “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” the fourth installment in the Will Smith-Martin Lawrence action comedy series, opened with an estimated $56 million in theaters over the weekend, handing Hollywood a much-needed summer hit and Smith his biggest success since he slapped Chris Rock at the Academy Awards.

Expectations were all over the map for “Ride or Die” given the dismal moviegoing market thus far this summer and Smith’s less certain box-office clout. In the end, though, the Sony Pictures release came in very close to, or slightly above, its tracking forecast.

“Ride or Die,” produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, is Smith’s first theatrical test since his 2022 slap of Rock earned him a 10-year Oscar ban. The “Bad Boys” film was in development at the time and was momentarily put on hold, but ultimately went forward with about a $100 million production budget.

Smith starred in the Apple release “Emancipation,” but that film — released in late 2022 — was shot before the slap and received only a modest theatrical release before streaming.

This time around, Smith largely avoided soul-searching interviews looking back on the Oscars and instead went on a whistle-stop publicity tour of red carpets from Mexico to Saudi Arabia, where he attended what was billed as the country's first Hollywood premiere. The 55-year-old Smith, who for years was one of Hollywood's most bankable stars, appeared on “The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon," the YouTube series “Hot Ones" and on Friday, made a surprise appearance at a Los Angeles movie theater.

Given that “Bad Boys” trailed May disappointments like “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” and “The Fall Guy” – both of which struggled to pop with ticket buyers despite very good reviews – the “Ride or Die” opening counts as a critical weekend win for the movie business.

“The fact that a movie overperformed is the best possible news,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. “It seems like all we’ve been doing over the past few weeks and almost since the beginning of the year, with a couple of exceptions, is try to figure out why seemingly well-marketed, well-reviewed movies have underperformed. This ignites the spark that the industry has been waiting for.”

“Ride or Die” still didn’t quite manage to match the opening of the previous “Bad Boys” film: 2020’s “Bad Boys for Life.” That movie, released in January 2020, debuted with $62.5 million. After the pandemic shut down theaters, it was the highest grossing North American release of that year, with $204 million domestically.

“Ride or Die” added $48.6 million internationally. Though reviews were mixed (64% on Rotten Tomatoes), audiences gave the film a high grade with an “A-” CinemaScore. Black moviegoers accounted for 44% of ticket buyers, the largest demographic.

In the film, which comes 29 years after the original, Smith and Lawrence reprise their roles as Miami detectives. The plot revolves around uncovering a scheme to frame their late police captain (Joe Pantoliano). In one of the movie's most notable scenes, Lawrence slaps Smith and calls him a “bad boy.”

Movie theaters will need a lot more than “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” though, to right the ship. Ticket sales are down 26% from last year and more than 40% below pre-pandemic totals, according to Comscore. A big test comes next weekend with the release of Pixar’s “Inside Out 2.” After sending several Pixar releases straight to Disney+, the studio has vowed a lengthy, traditional theatrical rollout this time.

Last weekend’s top film “The Garfield Movie,” slid to second place. Also from Sony, the family animated comedy collected $10 million in ticket sales over its third weekend, bringing its domestic gross to $68.6 million.

The weekend's other new wide release, “The Watchers," failed to click with moviegoers. The horror film, directed by Ishana Night Shyamalan, daughter of M. Night Shyamalan, is about a stranded 28-year-old artist in Ireland. Following poor reviews, the Warner Bros. release grossed $7 million in 3,351 theaters.

That allowed “If,” the Ryan Reynolds imaginary friend fantasy, to grab third place in its fourth weekend of release, bringing the Paramount Pictures cumulative domestic total to $93.5 million. Rounding out the top five was “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” which added $5.4 million in its fifth weekend of release. It has grossed $150 million domestically and $360 million worldwide.

This image released by Sony Pictures shows Will Smith, left, and Martin Lawrence in "Bad Boys: Ride or Die." (Frank Masi/Columbia Pictures-Sony via AP)

Actors Martin Lawrence, left, and Will Smith, strike a pose during a photo shoot to promote their latest film, "Bad Boys: Ride or Die", in Mexico City, Friday, May 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

This image released by Sony Pictures shows Will Smith in "Bad Boys: Ride or Die." (Frank Masi/Columbia Pictures-Sony via AP)

Actor Will Smith meets fans as he attends the European premiere of the film "Bad Boys: Ride or Die" at the Zoo Palast in Berlin, Monday May 27, 2024. (Carsten Koall/dpa via AP)

Actor Will Smith smiles during a photo shoot to promote his latest film, "Bad Boys: Ride or Die", in Mexico City, Friday, May 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

This image released by Sony Pictures shows Will Smith, left, and Martin Lawrence in "Bad Boys: Ride or Die." (Frank Masi/Columbia Pictures-Sony via AP)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia on Sunday launched a massive drone and missile attack on Ukraine, described by officials as the largest over the past months, targeting energy infrastructure and killing civilians.

The attack came as fears are mounting about Moscow’s intentions to devastate Ukraine's power generation capacity ahead of the cold winter.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia had launched a total of 120 missiles and 90 drones in a large-scale attack across Ukraine. Various types of drones were deployed, he said, including Iranian-made Shaheds as well as cruise, ballistic and aircraft-launched ballistic missiles.

Ukrainian defenses shot down 140 air targets, Zelenskyy said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.

“The enemy’s target was our energy infrastructure throughout Ukraine. Unfortunately, there is damage to objects from hits and falling debris. In Mykolaiv, as a result of a drone attack, two people were killed and six others were injured, including two children," Zelenskyy said.

Two others were killed in the Odesa region, where the attack damaged energy infrastructure and disrupted power and water supplies, said local Gov. Oleh Kiper.

The combined drone and missile attack was the most powerful in three months, according to the head of Kyiv’s City Military Administration Serhii Popko.

Russian strikes have hammered Ukraine’s power infrastructure since Moscow’s all-out invasion of its neighbor in February 2022, prompting repeated emergency power shutdowns and nationwide rolling blackouts. Ukrainian officials have routinely urged Western allies to bolster the country’s air defenses to counter assaults and allow for repairs.

Explosions were heard across Ukraine on Sunday, including in capital Kyiv, the key southern port of Odesa, as well as the country’s west and central regions, according to local reports.

The operational command of Poland’s armed forces wrote on X that Polish and allied aircraft, including fighter jets, have been mobilized in Polish airspace because of the “massive” Russian attack on neighboring Ukraine. The steps were aimed to provide safety in Poland's border areas, it said.

One person was injured after the roof of a five-story residential building caught fire in Kyiv’s historic center, according to Popko.

A thermal power plant operated by private energy company DTEK was “seriously damaged,” the company said.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian rocket attack in Lviv, Ukraine, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian rocket attack in Lviv, Ukraine, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a press conference during the European Political Community (EPC) Summit at the Puskas Arena in Budapest , Hungary, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)