Sony didn’t believe in the movie, because two Black actors don’t sell overseas,” Bay recently told Entertainment Weekly. “They had no faith in it. I was watching James Cameron’s ‘True Lies’ and I’m like, ‘Oh, my God, this guy has so much money.’ I have only $9 million. And they shut me down, literally. They shut the power off. That’s how rude they were on this movie. Luckily I had 500 days of film set experience doing videos, commercials, working with some of the most famous athletes in the world, and that’s where you really truly know how to deal with assholes.”
Bad Boys” opened in April 1995 and grossed $141 million worldwide. The action movie was released a year before Smith’s star power exploded with “Independence Day,” but not even the success of “Bad Boys” could convince the studio behind “Independence Day” that Smith had appeal overseas. “Independence Day” director Roland Emmerich revealed in July 2021the studio originally rejected Smith for the lead role over claims that casting a Black actor would kill the foreign box office. “Independence Day’s” $817 million worldwide gross proved otherwise.
Bay would reunite Smith and Lawrence in 2003 for “Bad Boys II,” which earned $273 million at the worldwide box office. A third movie, “Bad Boys for Life” opened in January 2020 ahead of the pandemic and earned $426 million worldwide.
Michael Bay: Sony ‘Had No Faith’ in ‘Bad Boys,’ Claimed ‘Two Black Actors Don’t Sell Overseas’
Michael Bay said Sony had no faith in "Bad Boys" and claimed "two black actors don't sell overseas."
variety.com 
