I mentioned in the Weekend Fix that Will Smith was without a doubt, the biggest box office star around (unlike Terrence Howard). For the last 12 years, Smith has not made a single bad move in his career choices. Since his breakout in 1995's Bad Boys, he has starred in huge movie after huge movie, including ten $100+ million successes. Here's an overview of his phenomenal career:1995-1999
Smith established himself as a great comedic action star in Bad Boys, Independence Day, Men In Black, Enemy of the State, and Wild Wild West. His career was absolutely on fire, and each of these movies was HUGE. Check out their box office:
1995 Bad Boys - $65 million
1996 Independence Day - $306 million
1997 Men In Black - $250 million
1998 Enemy of the State - $111 million
1999 Wild Wild West - $113 million
2000-2003
He then took on some smaller roles in Ali and The Legend of Bagger Vance, and while they weren't the blockbusters that he usually stars in, they helped legitimize him as a serious actor, and he even nabbed an Oscar nomination for his role as Muhammad Ali. He then reprised his role in two sequels, Men In Black II and Bad Boys II, and he snapped right back into his blockbuster persona. Here's how he fared:
2000 The Legend of Bagger Vance - $30 million
2001 Ali - $58 million
2002 Men in Black II - $190 million
2003 Bad Boys II - $138 million
2004-now
In the last four years, Will Smith has evolved into a jack of all trades. He's seen gigantic success in action titles (I, Robot; I Am Legend), an animated film (Shark Tale), a romantic comedy (Hitch), and a drama (The Pursuit of Happyness). Audiences have welcomed him with open arms every step of the way. He's the most likable, popular actor in Hollywood, and he has continued his hot streak with I Am Legend's record-breaking opening:
2004 I, Robot - $144 million
20o4 Shark Tale - $160 million
2005 Hitch - $167 million
2006 The Pursuit of Happyness - $163 million
2007 I Am Legend - $77.2 million (opening weekend)
1 comments:
Grady, I just read your post about Will Smith´s career. In 1999, Smith decided to take on the project Wild Wild West, which did well in the box office but by no means was an unbelievable movie for his career. In doing so, he passed up the leading role in The Matrix as Neo, which was instead given to Keanu Reeves, our generation´s undisputed Cary Grant. Smith has gone on to be the most prevalent box office actor, but do you think he could´ve gotten there sooner if he had just taken the Red Pill?
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