Tracking estimates for the Martin Luther King holiday weekend are in, with forecasts suggesting that Sony’s buddy cop sequel Bad Boys For Life is set to claim top spot at the North American box office with a four-day haul of $40 to $45 million, with Universal’s Dolittle having to settle for second with between $25 million and $30 million.
Bad Boys For Life, which reunites Will Smith and Martin Lawrence for a third outing in the series, is reported to have a budget in the region of $90 million, so with an opening weekend in that region the film should have little trouble turning a profit for Sony.
That may not be the case for the Robert Downey Jr.-headlined Dolittle however, with Universal having pumped around $175 million into the movie, including extensive reshoots which pushed it back from its original release date of April 2019.
Bad Boys for Life is set for release on January 17th and sees Will Smith and Martin Lawrence joined by returning cast members Joe Pantoliano (Captain Howard) and Theresa Randle (Theresa Burnett), alongside franchise newcomers Vanessa Hudgens (The Princess Switch), Alexander Ludwig (Vikings), Charles Melton (Riverdale), Jacob Scipio (Hunter Killer), Paola Nunez (The Son) and DJ Khaled (Spies in Disguise).
