Will Smith’s classic action blockbuster Independence Day still holds a record that may never be broken. Smith rose to stardom as the lead in The 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-Air aired its final episode on May 20, 1996 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 in Independence Day (1996) and Men in Black (1997), two of his highest-grossing movies.

Smith’s career in feature film began with Where The Day Takes You (1992) and Six 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 comedy Made in America starring Nia Long and Ted Danson before starring alongside Marcus Lawrence in the first Bad Boys movie in 1995. Bad Boys kicked off an exciting slate of blockbuster movies with Smith in the lead, two of which to this day remain among his most profitable films.

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

Independence Day earned 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 were Twister and Mission: Impossible, which earned roughly $496 million and $456 million, respectively. It’s no overstatement to say that Independence Day was the biggest movie and Will Smith was the biggest movie star in the world in 1996. Men In Black earned roughly $588 million worldwide, placing third in 1997 after Jurassic Park 2 and Titanic.

Because of Independence Day’s remarkable 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, the 2016 sequel Independence Day: Resurgence was a complete box office flop, earning just 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.

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 Life was the highest-grossing movie domestically at the asterisk-filled 2020 box office but finished fourth worldwide that year. Bad Boys For Life generated 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) and Birds of Prey ($84 million). Bad Boys For Life beat out Tenet and Sonic the Hedgehog at the worldwide box office which was topped by Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train ($507 million).

Aladdin is still and likely will forever be the highest-grossing movie of Will Smith’s entire career, earning just more than $1 billion worldwide. Aladdin was released in 2019, one of the most remarkable years in box office history, which saw an incredible nine films earn more than $1 billion worldwide. Men In Black was the second highest-grossing movie domestically in 1997 and the third highest-grossing in the world, totaling roughly $250 million and $558 million, respectively. Hancock was the fourth highest-grossing movie in the world at the 2008 box office topped by The Dark Knight and I Am Legend ranked seventh in 2007.

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 like Independence Day that tops the worldwide box office. The impressive performance of Bad 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. While Will Smith is still a bankable star, it’s hard to imagine him at the level of Independence Day again.