By: Amanda Anderson-Niles
Will Smith and his son Jaden usually draw in pretty big numbers at the box office, but for some reason the father and son duo struggled to draw people to the theaters to see their latest film together, “After Earth.” Not only did the film get panned by critics pretty much across the board, but it also appeared people just weren’t enthusiastic enough about seeing Jaden step up and be a star in a Sci-Fi action flick. The movie underperformed in its opening weekend in the US, and many are questioning if it’s a sign that Will’s days as a Blockbuster actor are over.
Welp, we surely hope those people aren’t holding their breath because according to multiple reports, “After Earth” may have flopped in North America, but in the UK it came in at the number one spot in its opening weekend. Screen Daily reports:
Poor reviews weren’t enough to prevent After Earth topping the UK box office on debut, preventing The Hangover Part III from a third consecutive week as the UK’s number one.
Sony’s first release since Django Unchained in January scored a sturdy $3.5m (£2.25m) opening to comfortably secure top spot.
That marks director M. Night Shyamalan’s third best UK debut, behind Signs ($5.8m/£3.8m) and The Village ($4.6m/£2.9m).
Will seems to be taking all the backlash the film has been getting in the US in stride. On his recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel, the actor cracked jokes on the film’s underperformance. However, in another interview the actor suggested he wants to continue to take on more risky and non Blockbuster type films.
Makes sense. People in America tend to be more judgmental and hateful.
Good for them. The movie is actually pretty good. I was pleasantly surprised.
Good movie. #shrugs
Yay! I liked the movie. Too bad people just wanted these two to fail so bad that it didn’t do well here. Oh well. When the media has it out for you, they will get you.
This is exactly what Michael Jackson was talking about. Here in the US, racism STILL exists. UK got some racist mofos too, but not like America. Me and my friend got into a heated argument because her claim to why this movie did not do well was because Will is not a big star like Brad Pitt and others. I agreed partially, but the main reason was because you have a BLACK man and his BLACK son as the main characters in the movie. Hollywood does not care to see that. UK judged the movie in its contents, America just don’t want to see a ni**a rise to the top.