Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah's Bad Boys For Life is shaping up as 2020's first blockbuster. The new movie is not only the first new release of the young year to top the box office two weeks in a row, but it is also the first to get to six-digit figures domestically. With a very soft 45.6% drop, the film is doing tremendously well thus far, and that success has the potential to keep going for a little while still
Check out the numbers for Bad Boys For Life as well as the rest of the Top 10 below, and then join me after for analysis!
Bad Boys For Life succeeded in exceeding expectations last time around when it made $62.5 million in the first three days of its North American release, and it's proving not to be a totally front-loaded performance. A sub-50 percent drop week-to-week is a strong indicator of positive word of mouth, as those who didn't catch the film immediately after its opening felt compelled to join the conversation (buying tickets along with the fans who have decided to get on the ride multiple times). It helps that the movie didn't face any super serious competition in its second weekend (more on that in a bit), but it's a strong showing regardless.
The folks at Sony must be very happy given not only that Bad Boys For Life is doing well, but that Jake Kasdan's Jumanji: The Next Level is holding on strong as well in the Top 5. And the North American numbers are only part of the equation for the new Will Smith/Martin Lawrence action comedy. In addition to already making more than $120 million domestically, the film's totals are brought up an additional $95 million when you factor in the rest of the world. To date the movie has made $215.6 million, which suggests that it – having been made for a reported $90 million before marketing and publicity – will definitely be a profit generator for the studio.
Even more good news for the film is that it has the potential to stay in its current top spot for a couple of weeks. Though there are some new wide releases hitting theaters on Friday (again, more on them later), the next "big" title coming up is Cathy Yan's Birds Of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn), which isn't arriving until February 7th. That's a lot of runway for Bad Boys For Life, and it could result in some massive numbers by the time that it's ready to start leaving theaters.
As noted above, part of the reason why Bad Boys For Life was able to put up the numbers it did this weekend (not to mention keep its ranking) is because audiences didn't exactly show up in massive numbers for the new titles that Hollywood had to offer. For starters, Guy Ritchie's The Gentlemen was able to successfully eclipse $10 million in its debut, but the ultimate total wasn't even enough to defeat Stephen Gaghan's Dolittle in its second week.
The new release is Guy Ritchie's first original directorial effort in over a decade – having spent the last few years dedicating his vision to various IP-driven projects – and the numbers for The Gentlemen definitely don't look healthy in comparison. The opening weekend figures are obviously well below those for 2009's Sherlock Holmes ($62 million) and 2019's Aladdin ($92 million), but far more rough is how the $11 million looks next to the features that were considered flops: 2015's The Man from U.N.C.L.E. ($13 million) and 2017's King Arthur: Legend of the Sword ($15 million).
At the end of the day at least it can be said that the film opened in the Top 5... which is not something that Floria Sigismondi's The Turning can claim. The movie only managed to make $7.3 million in its first three days, and fell $600,000 short of beating Jumanji: The Next Level in its seventh week. The film won't be a huge loss for Universal Pictures, as the project had a more limited $14 million budget, but it's not exactly going to be a big hit, and is far from a salve following both Tom Hooper's Cats and Dolittle (which could wind up losing the studio as much as $100 million).
In much more positive news for Universal, Sam Mendes' 1917 has had to settle for second place ever since Bad Boys For Life moved in, but it is continuing to thrive. The studio has continued to expand the release of the potential Oscar-winner, adding it to 325 more theaters this weekend, and it has now made more than $100 million domestically. The film is definitely a hit, and with Mendes winning the prestigious and coveted Directors Guild Award for Best Director this weekend, the film is really in a good place right now in awards season.
Speaking of box office milestones, Rian Johnson's Knives Out is not just doing an incredible job holding on in the Top 10 in its ninth week of release, but it has also managed to make more than $150 million in North America ($283.4 million globally). J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker has also now made over $500 million domestically, the blockbuster holding comfortably as the ninth and final billion dollar release of 2019.
As for the new releases set to shake things up in the Top 10 next weekend, we have two new wide releases set to arrive at a theater near you on Friday. If you're not digging or have already seen everything that's out right now, you might find yourself drawn to Reed Morano's action/thriller The Rhythm Section starring Blake Lively and Jude Law; or you could give Oz Perkins' twisted fairy tale Gretel & Hansel, starring Sophia Lillis, Alice Krige, and Jessica De Gouw, a whirl. We'll be back next weekend to see where all of the chips wind up falling, so be sure to tune in then!
