Will Smith gave fans a big surprise at a Los Angeles-area screening of his new movie Bad Boys: Ride Or Die on Friday night.
The action film starring Smith, 55, and co-star Martin Lawrence, 59, earned $5.9 million in trailers and looked poised to capture the top spot at the weekend box office.
“We’re in Baldwin Hills, we’re about to go into the movie theater,” the Oscar winner said while sitting in the back of his SUV limousine in a video shared on Instagram and TikTok.
‘It’s a ritual I have. I do it like I have a movie on Fridays, Saturdays and usually a matinee on Sunday. “I like going to the movies,” he explained.
The next shot showed Smith, discreetly in the back row of the theater, dressed all in black with a KN95 mask and a black peaked cap, enjoying a laugh with the audience.
Will Smith, 55, gave fans a big surprise at a Los Angeles screening of his new movie Bad Boys: Ride Or Die on Friday. “We’re in Baldwin Hills, we’re about to go into the movie theater,” he said in a video posted to his social media accounts.
After the movie, the actor casually walked out into the audience and told other viewers, “Hey, I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
At first people responded indifferently, thinking it was a fellow movie star, but they quickly realized they were talking to one of the stars of the film.
After that, Smith shared hugs and posed for photos with fans.
“I was there the whole time,” he told the astonished spectators.
Someone gave the film a ’10 out of 10′ in an impromptu review.
‘Imagine sitting next to Will Smith and not knowing it?!’ one fan exclaimed.
“This is how you promote a movie,” said another.
None of the fans seemed too concerned about the infamous slap he gave to Chris Rock at the Academy Awards in 2022, which made Smith persona non grata in Hollywood.
‘This man is unreal and down to earth, how can you not love him?’ asked one devoted fan.
Smith kept a low profile in the back row of the theater, dressed all in black with a KN95 mask and a black peaked cap, enjoying a laugh with the audience. He explained in the video that going to screenings is a ritual he has when a new movie comes out.
Fans didn’t initially recognize Smith when he started talking to them after the performance. They quickly realized they were talking to the star.
Smith shared hugs and posed for photos with fans. “I was there the whole time with all of you,” the actor told other audience members.
Bad Boys: Ride or Die is the fourth installment in the popular franchise and looked poised to top the box office in its opening weekend.
‘Will will never NOT be one of my favorite human beings.,’ one fan stated.
‘No one could ever make me dislike this man!’ exclaimed another.
Reviews for Bad Boys: Ride Or Die have been mixed, with Rotten Tomatoes giving the franchise’s fourth installment a 57 percent rotten rating from top critics surveyed by the site.
The public came to a dramatically different conclusion, giving it an impressive 97 percent novelty rating.