Smith, the star of such hits as “Independence Day” and “I Am Legend,” infamously slapped Chris Rock during the Oscars telecast in 2022. That same night, Smith finally won the Oscar he had been chasing for most of his career for his work in “King Richard.” Smith was banned from the Oscars for a full decade over the incident, and there was a pervasive feeling that his career might never recover. While I’m not here to comment on whether Smith’s career should or should not recover, the court of public opinion has weighed in and, resoundingly, they seem to have forgiven the actor for the slap. Either that or they just don’t care.

Regardless, Smith now reclaims his place atop Hollywood’s A-list. He has now helped make “Bad Boys” a $1 billion franchise along with his co-star and partner in crime Martin Lawrence. Smith has had gigantic hits to his name dating back nearly 30 years to “Independence Day” in 1996. He has rarely spent much time without finding himself atop the charts in a new film in the years since, and his films have grossed nearly $10 billion worldwide collectively. Those movies range from sci-fi films such as “Men in Black” to original rom-coms like “Hitch.” Smith helped launch franchises such as “Suicide Squad” and he helped make Disney’s live-action “Aladdin” a $1 billion hit. Audiences still love him, that much is clear.

The big question now is what Smith does next. “Ride or Die” made a lot of sense given that “Bad Boys for Life” was such a big hit in 2020. Will he return to another once popular franchise, perhaps pulling the trigger on “I Am Legend 2?” Or is he going to try and get an original project off the ground? Either way, it’s clear audiences will show up for the right film with Smith in it. More importantly, it’s probably because of Smith, not despite him.

“Bad Boys: Ride or Die” is in theaters now.