Summary
- Will Smith and Martin Lawrence have been highly paid for their roles in the Bad Boys franchise, with Smith earning $39M for all three movies and Lawrence earning $32M.
- Smith’s salary increased significantly from $2M for the first film to $20M for the sequel, while Lawrence received a $4M increase to match Smith’s salary.
- Despite the success of the franchise, Lawrence earned around $11M less than Smith for their roles in the latest film, highlighting the unpredictable nature of Hollywood salaries.
Will Smith and Martin Lawrence have starred in the Bad Boys franchise since the ’90s and were paid hefty salaries for their portrayals. With Smith portraying Detective Sergeant Marcus Burnett and Lawrence Detective Mike Lowry, the pair have made their mark with the Bad Boys franchise grossing $840.7M at the global box offices. The pair, both celebrated stars, were high earners through their tenure in Hollywood.
The stars and the film saw success after the initial 1995 Bad Boys release, and it bolstered the stars’ earning potential for the next film. While scheduling and creative disputes within the cast and crew almost led to the end of the franchise, both actors returned for the sequel to much-improved salaries. The fourth, untitled installment of the franchise finds Will Smith and Martin Lawrence reprising their Bad Boys roles on Netflix’s streaming service, with speculation about the pair’s salaries circling around.
Will Smith Made $39M For All 3 Bad Boys Movies
At the release of the first Bad Boys movie, Smith was still making a name for himself in Hollywood and was less in demand than his co-star, Martin Lawrence. It is reported that Smith made $2 million for the film (via Celebrity Worth), a considerably low number compared to his salary for the other Bad Boys films. Even after the wild success of the first film, Bad Boys II took eight years to be released, giving Smith time to grow as an actor. His reputation and the success of the film garnered him a hefty increase landing him a reported $20M for the sequel role. Seventeen years later the boys were brought back in Bad Boys for Life where Smith landed a $17M payday (via Yahoo! Finance).
Martin Lawrence Made $32M For All 3 Bad Boys Movies
Martin Lawrence was one of the highest-paid actors at the turn of the millennium, averaging two movies per year (and running successful TV series) from 1991 to the 2003 release of Bad Boys II. His reputation is what reportedly got him a $6M payday for the original Bad Boys film—$4M more than Will Smith. After returning for the sequel, Lawrence also received a lofty raise matching Smith’s $20M salary. When Bad Boys for Life was released, Lawrence took home an estimated $6M for his role in the film making around $11M less than Smith and proving the fickleness of Hollywood.
With the success of the Bad Boys franchise it’s no surprise that Will Smith and Martin Lawrence collected over $30M each from their portrayals. While there is much speculation about the fourth Bad Boys installment, it’s unclear how much the stars will be paid for reprising their wildly popular roles. While this is just a fraction of the actors’ net worth, both Hollywood Walk of Fame-honored entertainers have earned their reputations and the salary that comes with it, and continue to create quality work.
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
