Is it a comeback?
As recently as 2013, outlets like Forbes were calling actor Will Smith "the biggest movie star in the world" off the heels of a string of critical and/or commercial smash hits.
A scant nine years later at the 2022 Oscars, Smith's star was at its absolute nadir following an ugly incident where he slapped host Chris Rock. A joke from Rock about actress Jada Pinkett Smith -- Will's wife -- prompted the "Men in Black" star to walk up on the stage and slap Rock across the face.
It was, in just about every way imaginable, a disastrous move for Smith, as the actor was lambasted for his boorish behavior.
Now, just two years after that ugly incident, Smith's reputation appears to be on the comeback, if early box office reports are to be believed.
Citing early weekend estimates, The Hollywood Reporter was reporting that "Bad Boys: Ride or Die," the fourth movie in Sony's Will Smith-Martin Lawrence buddy cop-action franchise, brought in a domestic opening weekend total of $53 million.
That's a rock-solid figure by any metric comparison, but is an especially welcome figure in the midst of a particularly rough patch for movie theaters and the box office.
A quick glance at a historically brutal Memorial Day weekend at the box office paints a grim picture for Hollywood.
That long weekend saw the latest entry in the "Mad Max" franchise, the female-led "Furiosa," come out to a wildly muted response. The film was barely able to fend off the children's cartoon movie "Garfield," a movie that had a considerably smaller budget than "Furiosa."
That's also to say nothing about the issues that afflicted Hollywood throughout 2023, an especially rough year for theaters.
That year was a particularly painful one for Disney, as it saw a number of its biggest releases flop both commercially and critically.
Despite all of that doom and gloom, Smith's explosive action movie seems to have drawn straggling moviegoers into theaters.
And while that's undoubtedly good news for movie theaters, Smith himself also appears to be enjoying something of a public relations comeback, thanks to the warm reception of "Ride or Die."
A viral clip online showed Smith coming out of an early screening of his own movie, alongside everyday fans, and enjoying a raucous reception upon reveal.
Will Smith reveals to a packed theater crowd that he was watching ‘BAD BOYS: RIDE OR DIE’ with them the entire time. pic.twitter.com/mOovcoxipI
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) June 8, 2024
It'll be fascinating to see what lessons Hollywood gleans from this much-needed box office hit, but a pattern does seem to be emerging.
While 2024 has been unkind to Hollywood as a whole, the other notable hit of the year is "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire."
That film, not entirely unlike "Bad Boys," is the type of movie you sort of turn your brain off for, as you enjoy the raw spectacle of it all.
It's the sort of "low in plot and messaging, high in entertainment"-type content that fans have been clamoring for with the rise of social justice activism in society.
Whatever may be in the secret sauce that Will Smith appears to have stumbled upon with "Bad Boys: Ride or Die," the actor had better hope to find more of it if he wants to continue this unlikely career revival after that infamous slap.
