There hasn’t been much noise around the highly anticipated Bad Boys 4, which has the potential to be the blockbuster hit of summer 2024.

Despite the impending release of Bad Boys 4, there has virtually been no noise or marketing buzz surrounding the highly anticipated movie. Bad Boys 4 will mark the continuation of the beloved action-crime comedy franchise starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence after 2020’s Bad Boys For Life, the long-awaited third installment of the franchise. The original Bad Boys came out in 1995 while its immediate sequel Bad Boys II was released in 2003. Both films were directed by Michael Bay (Armageddon, Transformers) while 2020’s Bad Boys for Life was directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah.

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Not much is known about the currently untitled Bad Boys 4, although Lawrence and Smith are both guaranteed to return to their celebrated franchise as their original character, Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett. The reported cast of Bad Boys 4 also includes the return of Vanessa Hudgens as Kelly, who was introduced in Bad Boys for Life. Bad Boys 4 will also see the return of Alexander Ludwig as Dorn, Paola Núñez as Captain Rita Secada, Tasha Smith as Theresa, and Melanie Liburd as Christine. Newcomers Eric Dane and Rhea Seehorn have also joined the cast of Bad Boys 4.

Bad Boys 4 Has Very Little Hype Or Information, Despite Releasing In June

Bad Boys 4 is expected to release on June 7, 2024

Despite Bad Boys 4 potentially being one of the biggest blockbusters of summer 2024, there has been very limited hype built or information released surrounding the film. The release date of Bad Boys 4 quietly moved up a week earlier than Sony had originally announced, making the current release date June 7, 2024. Even with major moves clearly being made behind the scenes, it’s surprising that there has been hardly any talk about the upcoming franchise film. Similarly, the long-awaited Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire releases in March and it still feels like no one has been talking about it.

Sony likely expects a natural audience to show up for Bad Boys 4 the way that they did for Bad Boys for Life in a pre-pandemic January 2020 release.

Bad Boys movies have historically performed quite well at the worldwide box office, which could be part of the reason why Sony is holding off the release of Bad Boys 4 and saving on unnecessary marketing costs. Sony likely expects a natural audience to show up for Bad Boys 4 the way that they did for Bad Boys for Life in a pre-pandemic January 2020 release. Bad Boys for Life generated nearly $425 million worldwide from a $90 million budget, improving on its profit margins from the less successful Bad Boys II which was somewhat of a box office flop ($130 million budget, $273 million worldwide revenue).

It’s Refreshing That Not Much Is Known About Bad Boys 4 (Though It Will Change)

Keeping the plot under wraps could add to Bad Boys 4’s hype

Blockbusters are marketed to death and trailers often show too much of the story, so there is something nice about knowing very little about an upcoming big summer movie.

It could be a good sign that Bad Boys 4 has not already pushed for a major marketing campaign at the end of February for a June release. That would be a very expensive 3-month marketing campaign for Sony, which would grow excessive and tiresome similar to how Matthew Vaughn’s box office bomb Argylle was pushed for months prior to its early February release. Blockbusters are marketed to death and trailers often show too much of the story, so there is something nice about knowing very little about an upcoming big summer movie. Of course, this will surely change in due time and Sony is bound to kick the marketing into overdrive soon enough.

The overwhelming anticipation for Dune: Part Two, which is already being hailed as a modern sci-fi masterpiece, probably has major studios wisely staying out of its way. The release of Dune: Part Two on March 1, 2024, could be the biggest cinematic event of the year, which is probably why marketing for other movies has been mostly quiet throughout the first few months of the new year. With the Oscars also taking place on March 10, many topical films of 2023 will soon fade into the history books, allowing the impending rush of summer blockbusters such as Bad Boys 4 to take over the spotlight.

Will Bad Boys 4 Be A Success For Will Smith?

Bad Boys has been one of Smith’s most consistent franchises

As one of Will Smith’s most celebrated classic franchises that has extended into the modern Hollywood era, Bad Boys 4 could certainly do some big numbers at the box office in the summer of 2024. Compared to the franchise sequel overload of 2023, Bad Boys 4 should face less direct competition with its June 7, 2024 release and should benefit from its great footing in the summer theatrical window. The budget for Bad Boys 4 has yet to be released, but if it can repeat or outdo the box office performance of Bad Boys for Life, then a Bad Boys 5 may soon be on the horizon.