Will Smith starred in films spanning a variety of genres from westerns and sports to action and fantasy. Perhaps the most consistent type of movie under his belt is the sci-fi movie. He's been starring in space romps and alien adventures since the mid-1990s, and he's still thriving in that regard.
While these definitely run around the lines of critical acclaim and success at the box office, most of the films that follow succeed extremely well in the latter category. After all, Smith is a huge blockbuster star, with his films grossing a combined $9.3 billion worldwide. That number was largely due to his many sci-fi projects over the years.
These titles are also directed by industry superstars. They often collaborated with Smith to an efficient degree, but at the same time, many of the great filmmakers on this list missed the mark, despite working with an A-list actor within a fan-favorite genre. That said, this is every sci-fi movie starring Will Smith, ranked.
8 After Earth
Hands down the worst movie on the list, After Earth (2013) has a shocking 13% approval rating on the critical consensus website Rotten Tomatoes. It did make $243 million on a $130 million budget, but again, it's one of the worst mainstream movies of the twenty-first century, which can be said for many M. Night Shyamalan movies. There seem to be two types of criticism of his projects: decent reviews and absolute condemnation. Some of the worst movies of all time - or at least of the twenty-first century - were directed by Shyamalan. And this undoubtedly belongs to them.
The father-son duo absolutely fails to make it home here, which becomes odd given the success of their first collaboration together, The pursuit of happiness (2005). But they weren't actually the culprits. At least the director can be largely blamed, but in the case of After Earth, every element failed from a qualitative perspective. Not only the tasteless direction and lackluster performances, but also the film's shocking visual effects and amateurish script. If you missed After Earth while it was in theaters, that's probably for the better.
7 Gemini male
With a premise a little less confusing than After Earth, this is also just a slightly better movie overall. It's still pretty bad though, with a 26% on Rotten Tomatoes and amassing just $173.5 million on a $130 million budget. That's nowhere near the box office earnings of the aforementioned critical failure, but still - audiences went to watch on their own After Earth because it featured the father-son duo.
Here with Gemini male (2019), Will Smith actually appears in a dual role. That might explain the name. The public is still not sure what the purpose was, and ultimately those behind the project weren't either. And while it's made by a well-known director in Ang Lee, pretty much everyone misses the ball here — even Smith's costars like Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Clive Owen. In the end, neither of these first two movies on the list are worth your time. Nor were they worth the efforts of their impressive cast members.
6 Men in Black II
Aside from a new pair of screenwriters and a new pair of eyes behind the camera, this sequel features many of the same creatives involved in the original film - Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith reprise their lead roles, with Barry Sonnenfeld once again directing as director. But with Men in Black II (2002), the team missed almost all of their points.
Sure, it saw decent financial success during its theatrical run, but that was mostly due to its existence as a big-name sequel with a star-studded cast to boot. After reuniting the main characters—Jones as Agent K, Smith as Agent J—against a force of aliens thought to have been suppressed after the original entry in the series, the project's pedestrian plot points squared off what made the first one. . so great: originality.
5 I robots
Based on the short story collection of the same name by Isaac Asimov, I robots (2004) starring Will Smith as Detective Del Spooner. And the rest of the cast includes actors like Alan Tudyk and Shia LaBeouf, with the former appearing in a voice/motion capture role as one of the titular robots. And these stars helped bring in an impressive $353 million at the box office on a budget of $120 million.
This is the first movie on the list of any real quality. It has an undeniably interesting premise that makes much of its potential on paper, aside from its rather uninspired plot. But by taking even half a step back, it's clear that the attempt to juxtapose comic-minded characters running around in vintage Converse All-Stars with a highly functional robot society was ultimately never going to work. At least not on the big screen.
4 Men in Black III
To complete the trilogy, leads Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith teamed up with director Barry Sonnenfeld one last time. And while the original film was almost an instant classic and the second entry little to write home about, Men in Black III (2013) falls almost perfectly in the middle of that qualitative spectrum.
Critical consensus was much better than expected coming off the trails of its predecessor, and as you might have guessed after spending more than a decade outside the franchise, audiences flocked to theaters in droves. It grossed $654 million on a (raw) $220 million budget, and while the movie wasn't exactly jam-packed with Oscar-worthy performances, or anything, Jones and Smith return with the same comedic rapport as before. Plus, Josh Brolin is a great addition to the cast as Agent K. If you're a fan of the original, this sequel is definitely worth checking out.
3 independence Day
Truly, the story most worth writing home about in regards to independence Day (1996) will probably always be the money it made from ticket sales. It's the highest-grossing movie on this list, fitting perfectly to the bill of a summer blockbuster, first of all. But it was also the most financially successful film of its year, and at the time of release was the second highest-grossing film ever made. The numbers though? $817.4 million on a $75 million budget.
That's nothing short of impressive, and given Michael Bay's lackluster direction, this sci-fi disaster film was quite well received by critics. It was not particularly praised. Not at all, in fact. But in the end, independence Day definitely meets the points to be number three here.
2 I am a legend
Based on a novel of the same name by Richard Matheson, I am a legend (2007) will have you clutching your seat in a heartbeat due to the dread induced by the movie's thrilling action sequence. But then you could be laughing at Will Smith's charismatic performance in an instant, or wiping tears at the devastating storylines herein.
There's an alternate ending that's been gaining popularity in the public space lately, as the upcoming sequel is reportedly set to take place in a later setting. Smith will reprise his role as U.S. Army virologist Robert Neville, who went through the ringer in the first movie with plenty of heartbreak and physical trauma to tell the tales about. But the sequel will also feature Michael B. Jordan - we hope it can match the caliber of the first film's tenacity of character and pacing.
1 Men in black
Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, the acclaimed actor stars alongside Tommy Lee Jones in this instant classic of a sci-fi comedy. With special theme park rides and sequels already discussed, Men in black (1997) in terms of genre mainly harks back to his science fiction comedies from the eighties: Ghostbusters (1984), Back to the future (1985), and Space balls (1987), for example.
And while those movies are more famous, maybe save for Space ballsif applicable, Men in black has definitely disappeared from the radar in recent years. This is undoubtedly the best sci-fi film of Will Smith's career from a purely qualitative perspective. But it was also one of the highest grossing, and it's thoroughly hilarious. Smith and Jones quickly established a dynamic where the characters almost act as foils to each other. And while the premise is, of course, a primary attraction to the audience - or, just the genre, in general - coupled with a constant high point on comedy, the main characters and their rapport ultimately defined the experience.
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