After waiting twenty years for a new adventure in the "Bad Boys" franchise, "Bad Boys For Life" was released into theaters and continues to dominate the box office both in the United States and overseas since its debut in January. This weekend "Bad Boys for Life," passed the $400 million mark globally.
The third film has planted itself on the top spot at the global box office for three weekends and continues to reach success.
The cop movies have drawn in the fans thanks to positive reviews and Will Smith's appeal. The third film has taken the franchise beyond $800 million worldwide.
Global box office keeps 'Bad Boys for Life' financially strong
Deadline reported that the film has reached the top 10 markets including the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Australia, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Netherlands, UAE, and Germany. The German, UK and French markets brought the prior film a lot of success. Asian markets outside Japan have not really impacted the movie, however, the landscape has changed since then. The film happened to open at the start of the coronavirus situation.
Promotional efforts were in full force overseas, including some social media marketing involving Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, and producer Jerry Bruckheimer. The content was specialized with the help of multiple social media influencers and channels. Smith and Lawrence competed in a sing-off challenge against players from Germany's FC Bayern München.
Social media marketing played into the success of the film
Lawrence and Smith appeared on Madrid Television and in a YouTube video. The pair also traveled to do a press event in Miami working with Australia's "The Project," and several other influencers. They also held additional premieres across the globe. The latest chapter in the buddy cop franchise maintains its claim as the highest-grossing movie of 2020.
It also is the biggest January release to date and the highest-grossing "Bad Boys" film to date.
It's amazing since it's been almost two decades since the last "Bad Boys" film. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence first introduced fans to Detective Sergeant Mike Lowrey and Detective Sergeant Marcus Burnett back. That film brought in $141 million globally and eight years later, the sequel brought in $273,339,556.
With this much success, it appears that moviegoers are getting more interested in these characters, so it's not surprising that "Bad Boys 4" is currently in the works. The film's directors Adil and Bilall are hoping to return to direct the fourth. Smith actually appeared on Fallon and explained why it took so long to do a sequel. Smith said that he wanted to tell a good story and had to take time to consider how the characters have grown.