“Bad Boys for Life” hasn’t even completed its full opening weekend yet, but that hasn’t stopped Sony from plotting the fourth installment in the 25-year franchise. “Bad Boys for Life” screenwriter Chris Bremner, who co-wrote the script with Peter Craig and Joe Carnahan, is said to be returning as a writer for the fourth installment. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are expected to return.
Starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, the recently released third chapter is set to open with a strong $68.4 million at the weekend box-office, making it the second-best MLK weekend of all time (‘American Sniper’ is still tops), but also the highest opening-weekend in ‘Bad Boys’ franchise history.
Reviews have actually been more positive than expected for “Bad Boys for Life,” with a 75% score on Rotten Tomatoes. I have yet to see it, foolishly, or lazily, skipping this past Tuesday’s press screening. No worries, I will pay to see it this weekend, before I head out to cover the Sundance Film Festival on Wednesday.
The critical and commercial success of “Bad Boys For Life” is actually very good news for Smith, who has been struggling at the movies this past decade with such critically slammed fare as “After Earth,” “Collateral Beauty,” “Focus,” “Concussion,” “Suicide Squad,” and “Bright.” However, with the success of last year’s “Aladdin,” and now “Bad Boys For Life,” Smith’s stock seems to have risen. (Not to mention that, despite horrible reviews, “Bright” was, supposedly, a very popular home watch on Netflix, according to the streaming giant’s numbers).