Summary
- Will Smith’s return as Detective Mike Lowrey in Bad Boys 4 marks a milestone in his career, surpassing a previous record set by Men in Black.
- Although Bad Boys will be his biggest franchise in terms of releases, Men in Black remains Smith’s most financially successful franchise.
- Despite the financial success of Bad Boys For Life, Bad Boys 4 would need to achieve impressive box office numbers to beat Smith’s Men in Black box office record.
Will Smith is set to return as Detective Mike Lowrey in Bad Boys 4, and the fourth installment of the Bad Boys series will break a franchise record for the actor. Bad Boys 4 was confirmed in January 2023, with a slated release date at some point in 2024. Smith will return alongside Martin Lawrence for the sequel film.
Smith’s storied career was thrown into turmoil in 2022 following the incident at the 94th Academy Awards where he unexpectedly took to the stage to physically assault host Chris Rock. Reports indicated that the Oscars incident damaged Smith’s reputation, but the furor surrounding it has since died down, with announcements of his return in Bad Boys 4 as well as I Am Legend 2 suggesting his career hasn’t taken a significant hit. In fact, Bad Boys 4 will mark a milestone in Smith’s career, though it will struggle to beat an impressive precedent set by one of Smith’s other most famous roles.
Bad Boys 4 Will Make It Will Smith’s Biggest Franchise (In Terms Of Releases)
The release of Bad Boys 4 will mean it’s Smith’s biggest franchise when it comes to the number of releases the actor stars in. It’s not the first of Smith’s franchises to hit four movies, with that record actually going to Men in Black. However, Smith doesn’t star in the fourth installment, the much-maligned Men in Black: International, so Bad Boys 4 marks Smith’s most appearances in a single movie franchise. It’s a notable milestone for the movie star as it seems unlikely any of his other film series will top it.
Following the disappointment of Men in Black: International, Men in Black 5 seems unlikely to happen, and it’s unlikelier still that Smith would return to the franchise after being missing from the fourth installment. While Smith is slated to return in an upcoming sequel to I Am Legend, it remains to be seen if the series will expand beyond this, and it will no doubt hinge on the film’s box office performance. At the current time, however, Bad Boys seems set to retain its title as Smith’s biggest franchise.
Bad Boys 4 Can’t Break Men In Black’s Will Smith Box Office Record
While Bad Boys is Smith’s biggest franchise in terms of the number of releases, that doesn’t mean it’s his most financially successful. Men in Black easily takes the title as Smith’s most commercially successful film franchise. Excluding Men in Black: International to focus on just the Men in Black movies that feature Smith, the franchise has earned upwards of $1.6 billion at the global box office (per The Numbers). The first three Men in Black films each made more than $50 million in their opening weekends.
In comparison, the three films in the Bad Boys series so far have a lifetime global gross of around $840 million (per The Numbers). Unlike Men in Black, Bad Boys does seem to be on an upward trajectory at the box office, with the third installment, Bad Boys For Life, earning more in its opening weekend than the first two movies combined. Nonetheless, Bad Boys 4 would need an impressive box office take-home to beat Smith’s Men in Black box office record.
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
