Initially, for the 1995 debut of “Bad Boys,” Martin Lawrence was riding high off the immense success of his own sitcom, Martin. This leverage earned him $6 million, topping Will Smith’s $2 million, who was just beginning to transition from his beloved TV role on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air to the big screen.
Fast forward to 2003, and the tables began to turn with “Bad Boys II.” By this time, Will Smith had catapulted into the stratosphere of Hollywood’s A-listers, thanks to a string of box-office hits. Consequently, both he and Martin Lawrence bagged $20 million each for the sequel, reflecting their equally bankable star power at that point.
However, by “Bad Blog for Life” released in 2020, the disparity in their paychecks had widened significantly. Will Smith, who had continued to dominate the box office and expand his career into various high-profile and high-budget projects, secured a whopping $17 million. In contrast, Martin Lawrence, whose screen appearances had become less frequent, took home $6 million.
Hollywood Monday reports,
According to industry insiders, Will Smith has been paid $10 million upfront for his role in the fourth film of the Bad Boys franchise. $10 million is not a huge amount for an established actor like Will Smith, but in addition to the upfront salary, there is also a profit-sharing deal between the production and actor for his involvement in Bad Boys 4, which could prove to be a game-changer for Will Smith.
According to the buzz surrounding Bad Boys 4, it is poised to be a big blockbuster at the box office, and according to early predictions, it may earn a minimum of $400 million globally, while the maximum numbers are quite high. Considering the minimum numbers, Will Smith can earn around $25–30 million from the fourth film due to the profit share deal, which places him in the category of the highest-paid actor.
It’s not clear how much Martin Lawrence was paid for his role in the 4th installment and its being reported that there’s another hug pay gap between the two of them. However, what’s not often reported is that Will Smith has helped other actors get paid more for the movies they do alongside him. So he might have helped Martin Lawrence get a profit sharing deal too.
Aunjanue Ellis, who played his wife in King Richard said “I did that job, and I’m thankful for it, but I could have gotten paid better. So I told him this, and he did something about it. As a result of his doing, his responding to the letter that I wrote to him, not only did he address that with increasing my pay, but the other actors in the movie also got their pay increased.”
So it’s possible Martin Lawrence may have gotten a profit sharing deal along with his salary as well. Leave a comment and let me know what you think about the pay gap between Martin Lawrence and Will Smith over the course of the Bad Boys series.
On another note, Martin recently addressed the overwhelming concern for his health on social media. Check it out here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C77dEHJvVaE/?igsh=OHFxdmxpZTc2cHVi
