Weekend Box Office Report: Bad Boys for Life shoots into first!

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Bad Boys are back in a big way!

Miami's top cops were back on the case this weekend and put BAD BOYS FOR LIFE in first place at the box office with an estimated opening of $59.1 million!

The first assignment in 17 years for detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett was also their biggest yet, overpowering the $46.5 million start of BAD BOYS II in 2003 and the $15.5 million opening of the original BAD BOYS way back in 1995.

The R-rated reunion of Will Smith and Martin Lawrence was the second-biggest January opening ever behind the $89.2 million wide expansion of AMERICAN SNIPER in 2015, and is expected to haul in $68 million over the four-day Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.

It's also a nimble recovery for Smith, whose expensive PG-13 action movie GEMINI MAN flagged with a $20.5 million opening and $48.5 million domestic finish last October.

Directed by Belgian duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (taking over for mayhem maestro Michael Bay), the sequel cost a reported $90 million — a relative bargain compared to the $130 million price tag of Bay's unrelenting BAD BOYS II.

Also featuring Alexander Ludwig, Vanessa Hudgens and cantankerous captain Joe Pantoliano, Sony's third BAD BOYS chapter arrested an additional $38.6 million from overseas audiences for a worldwide weekend of $97.7 million.

Critics were generally pleased to see more of Smith and Lawrence's violent crimefighting tactics, giving the movie a 76% average on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 59 on Metacritic. Blast on over to the JoBlo review HERE.

Opening in second place was the new family fantasy DOLITTLE with $22.5 million.

Delayed from its original May 2019 date, the first major post-Marvel release starring Robert Downey Jr. (as the titular veterinarian who converses with animals) also captured $27.3 million from international audiences for a worldwide weekend of $49.8 million.

Directed by Oscar-winning writer Stephen Gaghan (TRAFFIC, SYRIANA) and featuring an impressive list of voice talent (including Tom Holland, Rami Malek, Kumail Nanjiani, Emma Thompson, Ralph Fiennes and Octavia Spencer), the PG-rated period adventure cost a reported $175 million.

Critics euthanized the latest adaptation of Hugh Lofting's famed childrens book character, giving the movie an 18% average on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 27 on Metacritic. Have a chat with the JoBlo review HERE.

After rushing into first place last weekend, the World War I drama 1917 took cover in third place with $22.1 million, suffering a 40% loss from its wide release.

Universal's R-rated race against time from director Sam Mendes has a domestic total of $76.7 million after ten days in wide release (and two weeks in limited release) and a worldwide total of $138.6 million, on a reported cost of $90 million.

In fourth place was the PG-13 adventure-comedy JUMANJI: THE NEXT LEVEL with $9.5 million over its sixth weekend in theaters. The $125 million Sony sequel with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Karen Gillan, Kevin Hart and Jack Black has a domestic total of $270.4 million and $708.4 million worldwide.

On its fifth weekend, the PG-13 sequel STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER was in fifth place with $8.3 million. Disney's $275 million conclusion to the Skywalker saga has a domestic total of $492 million and a worldwide total of $1.02 billion (still shy of ROGUE ONE's $523 million domestic and $1.05 billion global totals).

The PG-13 legal drama JUST MERCY was in sixth place with $6 million, a drop of 38% from its expansion last weekend. Director Destin Daniel Cretton's fact-based story with Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx has a domestic total of $19.6 million after ten days in wide release and two weeks in limited release.

In seventh place was filmmaker Greta Gerwig's period drama LITTLE WOMEN with $5.9 million. On its fourth weekend, the PG-13 adaptation has a domestic total of $84.4 million and $128.7 million worldwide, on a reported cost of $40 million.

After eight weekends, writer-director Rian Johnson's all-star crime comedy KNIVES OUT is still hanging in the Top 10 with $4.3 million in eighth place (up a spot from last week).

The PG-13 murder mystery with Daniel Craig, Michael Shannon, Jamie Lee Curtis, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Toni Collette and Christopher Plummer now has a domestic total of $145.9 million and $272 million worldwide, on a $40 million reported cost.

In ninth place was the R-rated comedy LIKE A BOSS with $3.8 million, a 62% plunge from its opening last weekend. The $29 million Tiffany Haddish/Rose Byrne/Salma Hayek business farce has a ten-day domestic total of $16.9 million.

Closing out the list was the PG-rated fairy tale sequel FROZEN II with $5.7 million on its ninth weekend in theaters. Disney's $150 million animated fantasy has a domestic total of $464.8 million and a worldwide total of $1.4 billion.

Outside the chart, the PG-13 sci-fi thriller UNDERWATER sank out of sight after one weekend in the Top 10, along with the animated family comedy SPIES IN DISGUISE.

Next weekend offers the Guy Ritchie crime comedy THE GENTLEMEN, the Mackenzie Davis/Finn Wolfhard horror movie THE TURNING, the Vietnam war drama THE LAST FULL MEASURE, and the thriller RUN.

What is your favorite Robert Downey Jr. performance? VOTE HERE!