In June, After Earth disappears from the Netflix subscription. The sci-fi film starring Will Smith was a big hopeful, but then turned into a bitter defeat for the star.
Will Smith was once one of Hollywood’s biggest stars in the blockbuster business. In the 2010s, however, there was a noticeable decline in this trend, which reached a sad climax with After Earth by twist legend M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense). You can still stream the 2013 film starring Will and his son Jaden Smith on Netflix subscription until 20 June.
This is what After Earth is all about
With Earth no longer habitable, humanity has found the planet Nova Prime in search of a new home. Many years later, General Cypher Raige (Will Smith) is forced to make an emergency landing with his son Kitai (Jaden Smith) due to an asteroid shower. A battle for survival finally breaks out on Earth.
After Earth was a personal blow to Will Smith as a sci-fi flop
With a lavish budget of $130 million, After Earth managed to gross only $240 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. This means that Shyamalan’s sci-fi blockbuster is considered a flop. Audiences were also unconvinced by the film. The Moviepilot community only gave the film a rating of 4.4.
Will Smith, who from 2002 to 2008 achieved the still unrivalled record of grossing 100 million dollars at the US box office with 8 films in a row, was probably hit particularly hard by the failure of After Earth.
The sci-fi flop was followed by other box office disappointments such as Focus and Hidden Beauty, until Smith reached his personal career low with the infamous Oscar incident in 2022.
