Will Smith’s $585M Sci-Fi Blockbuster That Predicted 'Batman v Superman' Surges on Streaming

Clay Enos/2014 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., Ratpac-Dune Entertainment LLC and Ratpac Entertainment, LLC

Published Mar 10, 2026, 5:39 PM EDT

Rohan Naahar is a Weekend News Writer for Collider. From Francois Ozon to David Fincher, he'll watch anything once.

He has covered everything from Marvel to the Oscars, and Marvel at the Oscars. He also writes obsessively about the box office, charting the many hits and misses that are released weekly, and how their commercial performance shapes public perception. In his time at Collider, he has also helped drive diversity by writing stories about the multiple Indian film industries, with a goal of introducing audiences to a whole new world of cinema.

Now that Will Smith has been absolved by the industry at large and certainly his fans, he's attached to major projects again. Smith shocked the world when he slapped Oscars host Chris Rock during the ceremony some years ago, minutes before winning his first Best Actor honor. He was subsequently issued a 10-year ban by The Academy, but was effectively back mere months after the incident as the lead of another Oscar contender, Emancipation. Since then, Smith has starred in the $400-million-grossing Bad Boys: Ride or Die, and is now expected to reprise one of his most popular roles in a sequel. The original film was released in 2007, and it recently saw a spike in viewership on streaming.

Directed by Francis Lawrence, the film was based on a book by the sci-fi writer Richard Matheson. It grossed $585 million worldwide against a reported budget of $150 million, and reportedly featured a scene that cost $5 million alone. The movie was set in a post-apocalyptic future, and it revolved around the last human alive in New York City. The character was played by Smith, and the movie we're talking about, of course, is I am Legend. It holds a 68% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics' consensus reads, "I Am Legend overcomes questionable special effects and succeeds largely on the strength of Will Smith's mesmerizing performance."

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By Macklen Makhloghi

Here's Where You Can Watch 'I am Legend'

According to FlixPatrol, it was among the most-watched movies on the domestic iTunes charts this week, nearly two decades after its original theatrical run. I am Legend was released in the pre-social media era, but audiences who watched it at home later discovered an interesting Easter Egg. A scene in the film featured a billboard in Times Square advertising a Batman versus Superman movie, nearly a decade before Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was released in theaters. The superhero movie featured Ben Affleck as Batman and Henry Cavill as Superman, and grossed more than $800 million worldwide. Meanwhile, Smith is set to return for a sequel to I am Legend with Transformers: Rise of the Beasts director Steven Caple Jr. at the helm. The movie will also feature Michael B. Jordan, who may well be an Oscar-winner by then.