Will Smith is clearly a very happy man, because his latest film “Aladdin” became the highest-grossing of his career, even surpassing his 1996 smash “Independence Day.”
The actor took to Instagram on Thursday and thanked fans for the accomplishment.
“This is a post that I’m humbled and honored to make right now,” he said. “Today, ‘Aladdin’ just passed ‘Independence Day’ as the highest-grossing film of my entire career. And to be in this game as long as I’ve been in this game and to have my biggest movie at this point in my career, I just want to say thank you.”
According to Deadline, as of Sunday, the Disney live-action film made $874.2 million worldwide, compared to “Independence Day,” which raked in $817.4 million.
In the U.S., however, the film fell slightly under the numbers for “Independence Day,” which made $306.2 million. “Aladdin,” meanwhile, pulled in $305.9 million domestically. To date, Smith’s highest-earning film in the U.S. is 2016’s “Suicide Squad” at $325.1 million.
The five countries where “Aladdin” grossed the most so far are Japan at $66.6 million, Korea at $60.2 million, China at $53.3 million, the UK at $42.8 million and Mexico at $32.1 million.
After the actor thanked his fans, they responded in large numbers.
“You more than deserve it! You’re one of the best!!! Love all your movies!!” someone wrote on Instagram.
“It was a great movie,” another person commented. “I saw it twice in theaters!! Probably my favorite live action remake of Disney so far.”
Of course, those comments were far different from what many had to say last year when Smith’s was seen as Genie on the cover of Entertainment Weekly. Some clowned him for the character’s hairdo and others for his costume.
The latest version — which is an adaptation of an animated 1992 release — premiered in the U.S. on May 24. And on the weekend ending June 30, “Aladdin” took the No. 4 position behind the films “Yesterday,” “Annabelle Comes Home” and “Toy Story 4.”
