'Bad Boys' tops box office for third straight week

LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Bad Boys of Life” went for a three-peat at the box office during Super Bowl weekend.

The Sony Pictures’ film starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence brought in $17.6 million to claim the No. 1 spot for the third straight week. The studio said the third installment became the highest-grossing film in the franchise with $148 million, eclipsing “Bad Boys II."

The earning for “Bad Boys” is the best box office turnout compared to other No. 1 titles (“Glass,” “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” and “Split”) during the NFL championship weekend over the past four years.

Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore, said box office numbers are typically lower during football’s championship weekend. But he said Hollywood is banking on Super Bowl commercials of films to help boost numbers moving forward.

“It’s a longer-term benefit for Hollywood to have trailers presented to a massive worldwide audience,” Dergarabedian said. “Studios bet big during the telecast by dropping trailers, which they’re doing for the first time. They are hoping to build media buzz and get people talking.”

The World War I tale “1917” notched second as the film continues to build momentum as an Oscars contender. It has been an impressive feat for the Sam Mendes-directed war movie after going from 11 screen s in its first week to nearly 4,000.

Each week, “1917” has been holding on strong since receiving 10 Oscar nominations including best picture.

Dergarabedian called the war film’s surge a “dream scenario.”

“It’s a winner all day long,” he said. “It’s had this picture-perfect platform release on its road to the Oscar telecast.”

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