Ali, opening on Christmas Day in 2001, bowed to $14.7 million.Īli was considered a mild box office disappointment for Smith, grossing $87.7 million worldwide. Seven Pounds debuted to $14.9 million in December 2008, while The Pursuit of Happyness took in $26.5 million in December 2006. Three of the actor’s fall and winter dramas opened lower than After Earth, but the stakes weren’t as high.
Because Sony decided to open After Earth in primetime summer months, it raised the movie’s exposure. His top global earner is Independence Day ($817.4 million), followed by Hancock ($624.4 million) and MIB 3 ($624 million).Īll told, Smith’s movies have grossed north of $6.4 billion worldwide, making him part of an elite male actor’s club whose upper echelons include Tom Hanks ($8.1 billion) and Tom Cruise ($7.6 billion) in terms of sheer dollars.īut, as has already happened to both Cruise and Hanks, Smith is suddenly finding his status as leading man challenged. Smith, 44, is the only actor to have eight consecutive films gross north of $100 million at the domestic box office and 10 consecutive films gross north of $150 million internationally. Those aren’t the only impressive statistics. And in December 2007, I Am Legend opened to $77.2 million. Last year, Men in Black 3 debuted to $54.6 million domestically, preceded by Hancock‘s $62.6 million in 2008 (both films were Sony titles).
1 in North America, from Independence Day to the Men in Black pics to Hancock, among others.
For nearly two decades, every one of Smith’s summer event films have opened at No.