Summary
Will Smith’s classic action blockbusterIndependence Daystill holds a record that may never be broken. Smith rose to stardom as the lead inThe Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which became one of the most popular and beloved sitcoms of the 1990s, running for 147 episodes across six seasons from 1990 to 1996.The Fresh Prince of Beil-Airaired its final episode on July 21, 2025 even while the show continued to receive great ratings for the sole reason that Smith was ready to become a movie star. Smith quickly starred inIndependence Day(1996) andMen in Black(1997), two of his highest-grossing movies.
Smith’s career in feature film began withWhere The Day Takes You(1992) andSix Degrees of Separation(1993), two films that received high praise from critics but failed to make much of an impression at the box office. Smith then played Tea Cake Walters in the poorly-rated comedyMade in Americastarring Nia Long and Ted Danson before starring alongsideMarcus Lawrence in the firstBad Boysmovie in 1995.Bad Boyskicked off an exciting slate of blockbuster movies with Smith in the lead, two of which to this day remain among his most profitable films.
Not Even Bad Boys 5 Will Break One Will Smith Record, Despite New $1 Billion Milestone
Despite how lucrative the Bad Boys franchise has become, not even a fifth film installment would help break one big Will Smith box office record.
Independence Day Is The Only Will Smith Movie To Top The Yearly Global Box Office
It was the highest-grossing movie of 1996 by a longshot
It’s no overstatement to say thatIndependence Daywas the biggest movie and Will Smith was the biggest movie star in the world in 1996.
Independence Dayearned a whopping $817 million at the worldwide box office, easily becoming the highest-grossing movie of 1996 worldwide. $306 million of that was earned domestically, which was also a chart-topping figure for that year. The second and third highest-grossing movies of 1996 wereTwisterandMission: Impossible, which earned roughly $496 million and $456 million, respectively. It’s no overstatement to say thatIndependence Daywas the biggest movie andWill Smith was the biggest movie star in the world in 1996.Men In Blackearned roughly $588 million worldwide, placing third in 1997 afterJurassic Park 2andTitanic.
Because ofIndependence Day’sremarkable box office performance, it remains to this day as Will Smith’s only project to ever top the worldwide box office. With a reported budget of $75 million, it is undoubtedly one of Smith’s most profitable movies, By comparison, the2016 sequelIndependence Day: Resurgencewas a complete box office flop, earningjust under $390 million against a production budget of $165 million. Smith has turned down the opportunity to appear in the blockbuster sequel, which clearly took a major toll on its box office performance.
How Independence Day’s Iconic White House Explosion Was Filmed Without CGI
Roland Emmerich’s alien invasion blockbuster Independence Day benefited from an entirely practical approach to its dramatic White House explosion.
Which Other Will Smith Movies Have Come Close To This Box Office Record?
Aladdin remains the highest-grossing movie of Smith’s career
Bad Boys For Lifegenerated just under $205 million domestically in a box office that was heavily compromised by the pandemic.
Bad Boys For Lifewas the highest-grossing movie domestically at the asterisk-filled 2020 box office but finished fourth worldwide that year.Bad Boys For Lifegenerated just under $205 million domestically in a box office that was heavily compromised by the pandemic, beating out the second and third highest-grossing movies of that year domestically,Sonic the Hedgehog($146 million) andBirds of Prey($84 million).Bad Boys For Lifebeat outTenetandSonic the Hedgehogat the worldwide box officewhich was topped byDemon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train($507 million).
Aladdinis still and likely will forever be the highest-grossing movie of Will Smith’s entire career, earning just more than $1 billion worldwide.Aladdinwas released in2019, one of the most remarkable years in box office history, which saw an incredible nine films earn more than $1 billion worldwide.Men In Blackwas the second highest-grossing movie domestically in 1997 and the third highest-grossing in the world, totaling roughly $250 million and $558 million, respectively.Hancockwas the fourth highest-grossing movie in the world at the 2008 box office topped byThe Dark KnightandI Am Legendranked seventh in 2007.
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Why Will Smith’s Independence Day Record May Never Be Broken
Smith is still a star but the box office has greatly changed
It may very well be that Will Smith will not star in another film likeIndependence Daythat tops the worldwide box office. The impressive performance ofBad Boys: Ride or Die, which has earned roughly $335 million worldwide, is a clear indication that Smith still has star power. However, the modern box office is very different in a post-pandemic world facing increased pressure from streaming services. The idea of movie stars has also changed, meaning that overall they carry less draw to get people to the movies than they used to. WhileWill Smithis still a bankable star, it’s hard to imagine him at the level ofIndependence Dayagain.
Independence Day
Cast
Roland Emmerich’s iconic 1996 sci-fi disaster movie Independence Day chronicles the attack of a hostile race of aliens against planet Earth. When extraterrestrial aircraft occupy Earth without warning, the forces of humanity quickly band together to stop them. At the behest of President Thomas J. Whitmore (Bill Pullman), US Marine pilot Captain Steven Hiller (Will Smith) and satellite engineer David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum) organize humanity’s last-ditch counterattack against the technologically-advanced alien mothership.
