‘Bad Boys for Life’ Shows How Important MLK Weekend Is for the Box Office

Available to WrapPRO members

It may not be as big as Memorial Day for theatrical business, but the box office can suffer if the January holiday doesn’t deliver

does bad boys for life bad boys 3 have a post-credits scene
Sony Pictures

“Bad Boys for Life,” the long-awaited threequel to “Bad Boys,” beat all pre-release projections and earned a 4-day opening of $68 million. The Sony film’s gross is second only to the $107 million launch of “American Sniper” in the history of MLK weekend openings. Combined with $25 million-plus contributions from “Dolittle” and “1917,” estimated overall grosses for the weekend sit at $197 million. When it comes to extended holiday weekends, the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday may not be as big a driver of box office revenue as Memorial Day or Thanksgiving weekend. But the success of “Bad Boys for Life” — and last year’s first-quarter struggles — show how a weak MLK weekend can leave the box office struggling for weeks. This weekend’s box office might not be as big as the $225 million to $300 million-plus heights that Memorial Day weekend regularly reaches, but that is still 21% ahead of the $162 million total that the same weekend grossed in 2019.

Comments