Bad Boys is an American series of action comedy films starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence as two detectives in the Miami Police Department, Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett. The series was created by George Gallo. Apart from Smith and Lawrence, Joe Pantoliano appears in all four films, and Theresa Randle appears in the first three films before being replaced by Tasha Smith in the fourth film. Michael Bay directed the first two films and Adil & Bilall directed the third and fourth. Gabrielle Union, who starred in the second installment, later starred alongside Jessica Alba in a spin-off television series, L.A.'s Finest.
The series has grossed over $1 billion worldwide. The first and fourth films received mixed reviews from critics, the second was unfavorably received and the third had a generally positive reception.
Films Bad Boys (1995)
Detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett have 72 hours to find $100 million worth of heroin before Internal Affairs shuts them down. Mike becomes more involved after a friend is murdered by the drug dealers. Matters become complicated when Mike and Marcus have to switch places to convince a witness of the murder to cooperate.
Principal photography began on June 27 in downtown Miami and wrapped August 31, 1994.
Bad Boys II (2003)
Mike and Marcus head up a task force investigating the flow of ecstasy into Miami. Their search leads to a dangerous kingpin Johnny Tapia, whose plan to control the city's drug traffic has touched off an underground war. Meanwhile, Mike and Syd, Marcus's sister, are in a secret relationship.
Bad Boys for Life (2020)
In June 2008, Michael Bay stated that he might direct Bad Boys for Life, but that the greatest obstacle to the potential sequel would be the cost, as he and Will Smith demand some of the highest salaries in the film industry. By August 2009, Columbia Pictures had hired Peter Craig to write the script for Bad Boys III. In February 2011, Martin Lawrence reiterated that the film was in development. In June 2014, Jerry Bruckheimer announced that screenwriter David Guggenheim was working on the storyline for the sequel. Two months later, Lawrence said a script had been written and parts had been cast. By June 2015, director Joe Carnahan was in early talks to write and possibly direct the film. Two months later, Sony Pictures Entertainment announced that Bad Boys III would be released on February 17, 2017. On March 4, 2016, the film was pushed to June 2, 2017. Producers had planned to begin production in early 2017.
On August 11, 2016, the film was pushed back once again to January 12, 2018, to avoid box office competition with the upcoming DC Comics film Wonder Woman, and retitled Bad Boys for Life. Lawrence revealed on Jimmy Kimmel Live! that filming may start in March 2017. On March 7, 2017, Carnahan left the film due to scheduling conflicts, and in August 2017 Sony removed the film from their release schedule. In August 2017, Lawrence said that he doubted that the film would ever be made. During an appearance on Australian breakfast show Sunrise on January 15, 2018, Will Smith told hosts Samantha Armytage and David Koch that a third film was coming "very soon". On January 30, 2018, it was announced that Sony Pictures were in negotiations with Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah to direct the upcoming third entry in the Bad Boys franchise titled Bad Boys for Life with a possible production date in August 2018. Sony is reportedly gearing up for the long-awaited third installment to begin filming in November 2018 and wrap in March 2019.
In November 2018, Martin Lawrence officially revealed via Instagram that he and co-star Will Smith would return for a sequel. Joe Pantoliano is also set to reprise his role as Captain Howard. Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig and Charles Melton were announced in the cast on December 20, 2018. Jacob Scipio and Paola Nuñez were announced in the cast on December 21, 2018. Filming began on January 7, 2019.
Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024)
In January 2020, a fourth film entered development, with Chris Bremner serving as screenwriter. Smith and Lawrence reprised their roles from the previous three movies. In April 2022, production for the film was reportedly halted due to the incident with Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards ceremony and the subsequent investigation. In February 2023, Smith announced that the fourth film was in pre-production. That same month, it was reported by musician/disc jockey Questlove that Smith had to drop out of a planned surprise appearance at the 65th Grammy Awards because filming for the fourth Bad Boys film had started earlier that week. Principal photography began on April 3, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. The film was released in the United States on June 7, 2024.
Future In June 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. On June 11, 2024, producer Jerry Bruckheimer noted that there had been discussions for a fifth Bad Boys film, but they were primarily waiting to see how Bad Boys: Ride or Die performed at the box office.
Television Series Season Episodes First released Last released Showrunner(s) Network(s) L.A.'s Finest 1 13 May 13, 2019 June 17, 2019 Brandon Sonnier & Brandon Margolis Charter Spectrum 2 13 September 9, 2020
L.A.'s Finest (2019–2020)
In October 2017, a spinoff television series centered on Gabrielle Union's character, was announced to be in development by Brandon Margolis and Brandon Sonnier. Later that month NBC ordered the pilot episode of the series. By March 2018, Jessica Alba was cast as the co-star with Gabrielle Union. In addition to Union, John Salley will also reprise his role as Fletcher, a computer hacker who helps Mike and Marcus in the film series. The following month, the title of the series was revealed as LA's Finest, with Jerry Bruckheimer serving as executive producer for the series. Later that month, NBC passed on the pilot, and the show was shopped around to other networks. NBC's boss, Bob Greenblatt, said: "These are all tough calls. We did have an embarrassment of riches. And when we laid out the schedule and the calendar all season...it was a show that didn't fit in the grand scheme of it."
That same month, it was revealed that Sony Pictures Television, was negotiating with Charter Communications about picking up the series. By June 2018, Canada's Bell Media picked it up for 13 episodes. Charter gave its series order on June 26, intent on making it Spectrum's first original series. In June 2019, the series was renewed for the second season.
Cast and crew Cast
Characters Films Television series Bad Boys Bad Boys II Bad Boys for Life Bad Boys: Ride or Die L.A.'s Finest Detective Sergeant / LieutenantMarcus Miles Burnett I Martin Lawrence Krystian Alexander Lyttle Detective Sergeant / LieutenantMichael Eugene “Mike” Lowrey Will Smith Theresa Burnett Theresa Randle Tasha Smith Megan Burnett Tiffany Samuels Bianca Bethune colspan="2" Fletcher John Salley John Salley John Salley Captain Conrad Howard Joe Pantoliano James Burnett Cory Hodges colspan="2" Quincy Burnett Scott Cumberbatch colspan="2" Julie Mott Téa Leoni colspan="4" Antoine Fouchet Tchéky Karyo colspan="4" Detective Sanchez Nestor Serrano colspan="4" Detective RuizJulio Oscar Mechoso colspan="4" Captain Alison Sinclair Marg Helgenberger colspan="4" Staff Sergeant Reggie Norman Dennis Greene Jeremy Batiste Special Agent / Detective LieutenantSydney "Syd" Burnett Gabrielle Union colspan="2" Gabrielle Union Car Driver / Wedding MC / Porsche Driver Michael Bay colspan="1" Hector Juan Carlos "Johnny" Tapia Jordi Mollà colspan="3" Alexei Peter Stormare colspan="3" Carlos Otto Sanchez colspan="3" Roberto Jon Seda colspan="3" Floyd Poteet Michael Shannon colspan="3" Secret Agent Armando Armas Lowrey colspan="2" Jacob Scipio AMMO Captain Rita Secada colspan="2" Paola Núñez Kelly colspan="2" Vanessa Hudgens Dorn colspan="2" Alexander Ludwig Rafe colspan="2" Charles Melton colspan="2" Isabel Aretas colspan="2" Kate del Castillo colspan="2" Lorenzo 'Zway-Lo' Rodríguez colspan="2" Nicky Jam colspan="2" Manny the Butcher colspan="2" DJ Khaled Joseph Burnett-Vaughn Ernie Hudson James McGrath colspan="3" Eric Dane Adam Lockwood colspan="3" Ioan Gruffudd US Marshall Agent Judy Howard colspan="3" Rhea Seehorn Christine Lowrey colspan="3" Melanie Liburd Tabitha colspan="3" Tiffany Haddish Callie Howard colspan="3" Quinn Hemphill Detective LieutenantDolores "Nancy" McKenna (née Perez) colspan="4" Jessica Alba The Bens Detective LieutenantBenjamin "Ben" Baines colspan="4" Duane Martin Detective LieutenantBenjamin "Ben" Walker colspan="4" Zach GilfordBrayden Scott Katherine "Kat" Vaughn-Miller colspan="4" Tamala Jones Bishop Duvall colspan="4" Jake Busey Isabel "Izzy" McKenna colspan="4" Sophie Reynolds Dr. Patrick McKenna colspan="4" Ryan McPartlin Dante Sherman colspan="4" Barry Sloane Raymond "Ray" Sherman colspan="4" Zach McGowan
Crew Film U.S. release date Director(s) Screenwriter(s) Story by Producer(s) Bad Boys Michael Bay Jim Mulholland, Michael Barrie & Doug Richardson George Gallo Don Simpson & Jerry Bruckheimer Bad Boys II Ron Shelton & Jerry Stahl Ron Shelton, Cormac Wibberley & Marianne Wibberley Jerry Bruckheimer Bad Boys for Life Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallahl Peter Craig, Joe Carnahan & Chris Bremner Peter Craig & Joe CarnahanJerry Bruckheimer, Will Smith & Doug Belgrad Bad Boys: Ride or Die Chris Bremner & Will BeallChad Oman, Doug Belgrad, Will Smith & Jerry Bruckheimer
Additional crew Occupation Films Bad Boys Bad Boys II Bad Boys for Life Bad Boys: Ride or Die Composer Mark Mancina Trevor Rabin Lorne Balfe Director of photography Howard Atherton Amir Mokri Robrecht Heyvaert Editor(s) Christian Wagner Roger BartonMark GoldblattThomas A. Muldoon Dan LebentalPeter McNulty Asaf EisenbergDan Lebental Production companies Columbia PicturesDon Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films Columbia Pictures2.0 EntertainmentOverbrook EntertainmentDon Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films Columbia Pictures2.0 EntertainmentWestbrook StudiosDon Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films Distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing Release date Running time 119 minutes 147 minutes 124 minutes 115 minutes
Reception
Box office performance Film Release date Box office gross Box office ranking Budget North America Other territories Worldwide All time North America All time worldwide Bad Boys April 7, 1995 $65,807,024 $75,600,000 $141,407,024 #1,366 (#922(A)) #1,354 (#971(A)) $19 million Bad Boys II July 18, 2003 $138,608,444 $134,731,112 $273,340,010 #480 (#461(A)) #625 (#524(A)) $130 million Bad Boys for Life January 17, 2020 $206,305,244 $220,200,000 $426,505,244 #226 (#490(A)) #331 $90 million Bad Boys: Ride or Die June 7, 2024 $193,544,038 $208,985,000 $402,529,038 #353 (#901(A)) #486 $100 million Total $ $ $ $ million
Critical and audience response Title Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic CinemaScore Bad Boys 44% (68 reviews) 41 (24 reviews) A Bad Boys II 24% (186 reviews) 38 (34 reviews) A L.A.'s Finest (season 1–2) 24% (17 reviews) 50 (8 reviews) Bad Boys for Life 76% (267 reviews) 59 (46 reviews) A Bad Boys: Ride or Die 65% (245 reviews) 54 (50 reviews) A−
Music
Soundtracks