by Howard Campbell
SOUTH FLORIDA – On June 7, fans of the Bad Boys movie franchise gear up for another wild ride with detective sergeants Marcus Miles Burnett and Michael Eugene Lowrey, played by Martin Lawrence and Will Smith, respectively.
Bad Boys Ride or Die is the fourth installment in the series which debuted in 1995 with Bad Boys. This was followed by Bad Boys II in 2003 and Bad Boys For Life four years ago.
The films have grossed millions of dollars for Columbia Pictures. Bad Boys had box office returns of $65,807.024; Bad Boys II clocked $138,608.444, and Bad Boys For Life made $206,305.244.
“Bad Boys” of Reggae – Inner Circle
Theme song for each film is Bad Boys, the infectious hit single by veteran reggae band Inner Circle. First used as the intro for the hit Fox reality series Cops in the early 1990s. The song is a bona fide arena anthem, regularly played in clubs, sports bars and at sporting events.
Here is a look at reggae songs that are in hit movies:
Starring Tom Cruise as an American bartender based in Jamaica, this was a hit in 1988. Distributed by Buena Vista Pictures, its soundtrack features songs by Jimmy Cliff (Shelter of Your Love) and Leroy Gibbons’ reggae take on The Drifters’ This Magic Moment. Cocktail’s production budget was $20 million; it made $78.2 million at the North American box office.
The 1993 movie starring John Candy and Leon, was inspired by the exploits of Jamaica’s bobsled team to the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada. It’s soundtrack featured a number of Jamaican artists with Jimmy Cliff’s version of Johnny Nash’s I Can See Clearly Now and Diana King’s refresh of The Wailers’ Stir it Up being standouts. Made on a budget of $17 million by Walt Disney Pictures, Cool Runnings grossed $154.9 million.
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How Stella Got Her Groove Back
The mother of all ‘cougar’ movies, was released in 1998. Set in Jamaica, it stars Angella Bassett as an African-American woman who visits the country and falls for a younger man played by Taye Diggs. Like Cool Runnings, it has a soundtrack dominated by Jamaican acts led by Shaggy, who does Luv Me, Luv Me with Janet Jackson. Distributed by 20th Century Fox, How Stella Got Her Groove Back cost $20 million to make and returned $39.2 million at the box office.
Okay, so this 1999 movie about a giant alligator in Maine was not a critics favorite, but it retains a strong cult following. Starring Bridget Fonda and Bill Pullman, it has a memorable cameo from Betty White who feeds the monster gator as Bob Marley’s Is This Love plays in the background. Produced by 20th Century Fox, Lake Placid was made on a budget of $30 million and grossed $56.9 million.