New Delhi, India

Will Smith marked his first major film hit since his infamous Oscars slap as Bad Boys: Ride or Die debuted atop the North American box office, in a sign audiences are ready to welcome back the actor. 

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Sony's fourth installment of the action comedy series took home an estimated $56 million, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported, making it a major step in Smith's career rehabilitation after he slapped Chris Rock at the Academy Awards in 2022.

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''Bad Boys is in elite company and the series has room to run. These are excellent numbers," said analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research.

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The success is a welcome departure from Smith's 2022 action release Emancipation, where his role as a runaway slave in the American Civil War failed to resonate with audiences and flopped at the box office.

Bad Boys snatched first place from Sony's family-friendly The Garfield Movie, starring Chris Pratt as the lazy, lasagna-loving feline, which dropped to second place with $10 million in ticket sales for the Friday-through-Sunday period.

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In third and taking in $8 million was Paramount's If, which follows Cailey Fleming as a young girl who, along with neighbor Ryan Reynolds, embarks on an adventure to reconnect forgotten made-up playmates with their children.

Warner Bros horror film The Watchers opened in fourth place at $7 million, while 20th Century's action sci-fi Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes ranked fifth at $5.4 million.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga ($4.2 million)

The Fall Guy ($2.7 million)

The Strangers: Chapter 1 ($1.8 million)

Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle ($820,000)

In A Violent Nature ($640,000)