Bad Boys: Ride or Die premiered at Coca-Cola ArenainDubai on May 22, 2024, and was released in the United States on June 7. The film has grossed over $227 million worldwide against a production budget of $100 million, becoming the tenth-highest-grossing film of 2024.
Four years after the death of Isabel Aretas,[a] Detective Mike Lowrey marries his physical therapist, Christine. During the ceremony, his partner, Detective Marcus Burnett, suffers a mild heart attack and goes into a coma, where he experiences a vision of their late captain, Conrad Howard, who tells him it is not his time.
When Marcus wakes up, he believes he cannot die. Soon after, it is reported that Captain Howard was tied to drug cartels. Despite Captain Howard's posthumous tarnishing, Mike and Marcus are determined to prove his innocence with the help of Captain Rita Secada and her new boyfriend, mayoral candidate Adam Lockwood.
When the conspirators try to access Captain Howard’s computer, a pre-recorded video is sent to Mike and Marcus from him, warning them of corruption within the department. Howard uses the phrase "Coke bottle" as a code and it is revealed that he gave information to their former hacker colleague Fletcher, because Howard felt he was more responsible than Marcus and Mike.
The partners go to Fletcher's club to retrieve "files"; this turns out to be a QR code hidden in wall art, which unlocks a second more detailed video from Captain Howard. However, a squad of assassins tail them to the club and kill Fletcher.
Their hunt for the truth leads them to Mike's son, Armando Aretas, who is incarcerated for Howard's murder. Armando claims that Howard was not corrupt, but knew who was, insisting that the reason Howard was killed was because he was close to bringing down the organization. He offers to help identify the person responsible for Howard's murder.
As Mike and Marcus transport Armando to Miami, the conspirators, having snuck on board, manage to kill the pilot and guards, leading to the helicopter's crashing and leaving Mike, Marcus and Armando as fugitives. When the conspirators put out a bounty, the three are hunted by both law enforcement and criminal gangs. Conrad's daughter, U.S. Marshal Judy Howard, swears vengeance on Armando for killing her father.
With the assistance of AMMO team members Dorn and Kelly, Armando, Mike, and Marcus uncover the truth behind the murder and setup involving a former Army Ranger turned DEA agent, James McGrath. McGrath had been captured by the cartel and was tortured until he gave up his associates; he has been working with them ever since. McGrath orchestrates the kidnapping of Christine and Callie, Judy's daughter. McGrath sends his men to get Marcus's family, but his Marine son-in-law, Reggie, kills them all. Rita, Dorn and Kelly apprehend Lockwood, after he is exposed to be working with McGrath.
Using Lockwood as bait, the team engages in a fierce gunfight with McGrath's men at a former alligator-themed amusement park to rescue the hostages, where Lockwood is eventually mauled to death by an alligator. Mike finds and confronts McGrath, who holds both Christine and Marcus hostage at gunpoint. McGrath then presents Mike with an ultimatum: he must pick either Christine or Marcus to die. Mike, alluding to Marcus's newfound belief that he "cannot die", shoots Marcus in his bulletproof vest. The chaos allows Christine and Marcus to break free before Mike kills McGrath. Amidst the chaos, Judy finds Armando and prepares to kill him, but Callie appears and tells her mother that Armando saved her life. Begrudgingly grateful for his heroic act, Judy shows mercy to Armando and allows him to escape.
After they and Howard are cleared of all charges, Mike and Marcus celebrate by cooking food on a public grill with Reggie, who has finally earned the respect of both Mike and Marcus.
Following the opening weekend box-office success of Bad Boys for Life (2020), Sony announced plans for a fourth installment, with Chris Bremner returning to write the script.[9][10]
In April 2022, it was reported that development for the fourth film was being put on hold in light of the incident with Will Smith slappingChris Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards ceremony. However, the following month Sony head chairman Tom Rothman confirmed the fourth film was still in development, despite the previous report.[11][12] In February 2023, Smith announced that he and Lawrence would reprise their roles for the film, which was in pre-production, with Adil & Bilall returning to direct.[13][14] In March 2023, it was revealed that Vanessa Hudgens would reprise her role as Kelly from Bad Boys for Life.[5] In April 2023, it was announced that Eric Dane had been cast, reportedly as the villain, and that Paola Núñez and Alexander Ludwig would also reprise their roles from Bad Boys for Life.[15] The same month, Ioan Gruffudd joined the cast.[16] In May 2023, it was announced that Rhea Seehorn had joined the cast.[17]Bad Boys: Ride or Die was originally the working title by co-director Adil El Arbi, before it was confirmed in early 2024.[18]
Principal photography began on April 3, 2023, in Atlanta, Georgia and Miami, Florida.[19][20] On May 22, 2023, TMZ released behind the scenes clips of Will Smith and Martin Lawrence filming scenes of the movie in Atlanta.[21] Filming was suspended in July due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.[22] In March 2024, it was revealed that Jacob Scipio would reprise his role as Armando Aretas from the previous film.[23] Filming wrapped on March 4.[24]
The first trailer of the film was released on March 26, 2024.[26] The final trailer for the film was released on May 16.[27] On May 28, Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat and Lionel MessiofInter Miami featured in another trailer.[28]
The world premiere of Bad Boys: Ride or Die was held at Coca-Cola ArenainDubai, United Arab Emirates, on May 22, 2024,[29][30] and it was released in the United States on June 7, 2024. It was originally scheduled to be released on July 3, 2019,[31] but was moved up to May 24, 2019,[32] before being pulled from the schedule. In July 2023, it was announced that the film would be released on June 14, 2024.[33] In February 2024, the release date was moved up a week to June 7.[34][35]
As of June 19, 2024[update], Bad Boys: Ride or Die has grossed $120.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $102.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $223.1 million.[4][3]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 65% of 216 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6/10. The website's consensus reads: "Will Smith and Martin Lawrence remain good company even when Bad Boys strains to up the ante, proving there's still life left in this high-octane franchise."[36]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 54 out of 100, based on 49 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[37] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of『A–』on an A+ to F scale, making the film the first installment in the series not to earn an A.[38]PostTrak reported a 90% overall positive score, with 84% saying they would definitely recommend it.[38]
The Independent found that the film was "nihilistic, maximalist fun".[39]Variety too was positive about the production and notably certain scenes: "There’s a hypnotic shootout aboard a military helicopter, a crowd-pleasing encounter at an NRA encampment, a rollicking finale at a Florida theme park abandoned by everyone but its crocodiles (...) making yesterday’s overcooked street-smart popcorn seem tastier today than it has any right to be."[40]
The BBC was more mixed, stating, "Critics are sometimes told that we shouldn't analyse Hollywood blockbusters, we should just switch off our brains and enjoy them. Well, not many films are as dependent on our brains being on standby as Bad Boys: Ride or Die. The plot is nonsensical, the grenade-dodging stunts are even more nonsensical, and the internal logic is non-existent: the assertion that Marcus has to avoid stressful situations after his heart attack is forgotten within 30 seconds. But the film is fun enough in its chaotic, grungy, rough and ready way."[41]
On June 7, 2024, Smith and Lawrence told Entertainment Weekly that they would be open to return for a fifth film in the franchise, as long as the younger cast members do more stunts and there's a story involving their characters worth being told, with Lawrence also noting it would depend on whether the fans demanded more films.[42] On June 11, 2024, producer Jerry Bruckheimer noted that there had been discussions for a fifth Bad Boys film, but they are primarily waiting to see how Bad Boys: Ride or Die performs at the box office.[43]
