It’s an understatement to say Will Smith has starred in some of the biggest films of the past two decades — Bad Boys in 1995, I, Robot in 2004, Suicide Squad in 2016 and of course his apocalypse-thwarting lead role in Independence Day from 1996 all come to mind. However, after 23 years of being his highest-grossing film ever, the latter film has now been knocked down a notch by the success of his latest blockbuster smash with Disney’s live-action remake of Aladdin.
Going by the numbers, the box office sales for Aladdin ($874.2 million USD) ousted that of Independence Day ($817.4 million USD) by a cool $56.8 million USD, which is only expected to rise as the film has only been in theaters for a little over a month. Even if there was, to say, a special re-release of ID4 for the Fourth of July in a few days, we doubt it would be able to top the juggernaut success that Disney has currently been having with all of its live-action remakes of those classic 2D cartoon films of the ’90s. Smith plays the coveted role as The Genie, which originally garnered critiscism for his “Smurf-like” appearance. Haters, you all can fall back now!
Here’s a look at Will’s top five highest grossing films so far, via Box Office Mojo:
1. Aladdin (2019) – $874.2m USD
2. Independence Day (1996) – $817.4m USD
3. Suicide Squad (2016) – $746.8m USD
4. Hancock (2008) – $624.4m USD
5. Men In Black 3 (2012) – $624m USD
Aladdin is only behind Avengers: Endgame and Captain Marvel as biggest movies of 2019 across the globe. While that may change in a few weeks when The Lion King hits theaters — one word: BEYONCÉ! — Big Willie will have another chance to top himself later this year when Gemini Man hits theaters on October 11.