Will Smith $100 Million Blockbusters Are More Than You Realize
Will Smith may have faced some heat over the past few years due to the Oscar slap controversy, but the man can make blockbusters. With his latest summer film, Bad Boys: Ride or Die, opening this weekend, social media has taken notice of his box office stats over the years, and the results are incredibly impressive. Smith has 17 films to his name that have grossed over $100 million dollars, and he’s the only actor in Hollywood history to have eight consecutive movies grossing over $100 million.
Will Smith Started With Back-To-Back Hits
Will Smith nabbed his first $100 million blockbuster with Bad Boys, where he starred alongside Martin Lawrence as a pair of Miami detectives. The film grossed a respectable $141 million worldwide, but it paled in comparison to his blockbuster hit Independence Day the following year. Independence Day is the classic film that sees the Earth fighting back against an alien invasion on the 4th of July weekend.
Genies And Aliens
Independence Day got Smith within spitting distance of the $1 billion mark, grossing over $817 million. Eventually, Will Smith would get his $1 billion blockbuster with the Disney live-action remake of Aladdin in 2019. While Smith playing the role of Genie instead of the late Robin Williams was initially met with some skepticism, the film received decent reviews and clearly performed well financially.
But Will Smith’s consecutive streak of $100 million+ blockbusters began in 2002 with Men in Black 2, the sequel to the wildly fun 1997 film that saw Tommy Lee Jones and Smith co-star as a pair of agents for a secret extraterrestrial immigration and regulation agency.
Smith returned to the franchise well again the following year with Bad Boys 2 to nab his second consecutive $100 million+ film. The 2004 Isaac Asimov adaptation I, Robot, would be his third addition to the record in 2004.
Even His Artistic Phase Paid Off
The same year, Will Smith scored another $100 million+ blockbuster with the animated Dreamworks film Shark Tale. The romcom Hitch would get Smith the fifth entry to his record in 2005, while the critically acclaimed tearjerker The Pursuit of Happiness would be his sixth. He sewed up the record with the one-two punch of action films I Am Legend and Hancock, which grossed $585 million and $620 million, respectively.
The Bad Boys Streak
After I Am Legend and Hancock, Will Smith wouldn’t earn another $100 million+ blockbuster take until 2012 with Men in Black 3. In 2016, Suicide Squad would get him his third-highest-grossing movie with $749 million. Smith’s most recent $100 million+ blockbuster was in 2020 with Bad Boys for Life. Now it looks like Smith hopes the Bad Boys streak can continue with Bad Boys: Ride or Die.
Bad Boys: Ride Or Die Is Coming To Theaters Soon
All signs say that Will Smith should be able to add Bad Boys: Ride or Die to his successful box office blockbusters. The projected opening weekend for the film is between $30 and $50 million, so it seems the movie is on track to put Smith right back into the summer blockbuster spotlight. The film also stars Martin Lawrence, Vanessa Hudgens, DJ Khaled, Eric Dane, and Tiffany Haddish and hits theaters this weekend.
