On one hand, the immense success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe propelled Robert Downey Jr.’s career to new heights, making him one of the highest-paid actors of his generation. Still, on the other, its dominance at the box office has skewed the idea of judging an actor’s individual potential to attract moviegoers to theaters, with even the likes of Quentin Tarantino joining the debate about Marvel actors not being movie stars.
In that regard, Will Smith is one of the few actors who can be considered a movie star in the true sense of the word. As a matter of fact, the Oscar winner has set three records that even Marvel’s Downey Jr. will struggle to break.
Will Smith Boasts Most Consecutive $100M+ Hits at the U.S. Box Office
Will Smith‘s most impressive record to date not only highlights his star power and acting prowess but also his shrewd judgment and understanding of the box office when it comes to choosing his roles.
Delivering one-off blockbusters is a lot easier than consistently leading films to financial success. Smith has acted in commercial successes eight times on the bounce.
From 2002 to 2008, his movies, Men in Black 2, Bad Boys II, Robot, Shark Tale, Hitch, The Pursuit of Happyness, I Am Legend, and Hancock all grossed more than $100 million at the U.S. box office. The streak came to a halt with 2008’s Seven Pounds.
Will Smith’s Suicide Squad is Highest-Grossing August Debut
August is usually considered “dump month” as movie studios are often wary of releasing their high-profile movies at the end of the summer. However, Smith’s star power even shattered this perception and led the otherwise underwhelming DCEU franchise to impressive financial success with Suicide Squad.
With a collection surpassing $130m, it set the record for the highest-grossing August debut. Interestingly, the Smith-starrer beat during the incredible run was Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. Suicide Squad stopped at an impressive $747 million collection, becoming one of DC Studios’ biggest hits of all time.
For a brief period, it was also Smith’s most successful movie before Aladdin hit the theaters in 2019 and crossed the elusive $1 billion mark.
Read more: The Keanu Reeves, Tom Cruise Record Daniel Radcliffe May Have Accidentally Beaten With Harry Potter
Will Smith Led Sony Pictures’ Highest-Grossing R-Rated Movie
Sony Pictures has enjoyed immense success with its Spider-Man titles. However, when it comes to attracting limited viewers to theaters with R-rated material, not even their superhero movies come close to matching the feet of Smith’s Bad Boys For Life.
The third installment of the 55-year-old’s action-comedy franchise hit the theaters in 2020 and grossed $426.5 million globally. Moreover, it also set the record for the biggest opening weekend for any movie released in January and the highest lifetime gross for any January movie.
With much-hyped Bad Boys 4 expected to mark Smith’s long-awaited big-screen comeback, it won’t surprise many if he ends up shattering more box office records.
