Every Will Smith Movie, Ranked Worst to Best
Updated December 1, 2022 to add Emancipation.
First rising to fame in the 1980s as the non-DJ half of the hip hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, Will Smith moved into acting in 1990 as the star of the hit NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (soon to be rebooted as a Peacock drama series). He would make his big-screen debut a few years later in a few indie movies before quickly moving to above-the-title stardom with 1995's Bad Boys. He has been a major presence in film ever since, with roles in over 30 films, a pair of Oscar nominations, and a cumulative box office gross of over $4 billion.
His newest film, King Richard, is headed to theaters and HBO Max on November 19th and is expected to be an Oscar contender in multiple categories. How does it compare to his past work? In the gallery on this page, we rank every one of Will Smith's films in order from worst to best by their Metascores, which represent the consensus opinions of top film critics. Note that we have excluded titles where Smith's role was limited to a brief cameo appearance (such as in Winter's Tale, Jersey Girl, and Anchorman 2).
The only Will Smith film to gross more than $1 billion is this 2019 live-action reimagining of Disney's 1992 animated classic. Directed, oddly enough, by Guy Ritchie (it's both his only PG-rated film and his only musical), the remake finds Smith taking on the role of Genie originated by the late Robin Williams. And despite the fact that Smith is a Grammy-winning recording artist, Aladdin is his first (and only) musical as well, and the rapper performed classic Aladdin numbers like "Friend Like Me" and "Prince Ali" in the film. Critics were a bit less than delighted by the film, though they generally liked Smith's performance (and would have liked it even more but for the "ghastly CGI" used to put his face on a floating blue body).
“It’s pretty clear after watching the new live-action Aladdin that doubts about Will Smith’s casting as the Genie are overblown. It’s the guy behind the camera who should be doubted. And stuffed into a small lamp forever.” —Mark Kennedy, AP
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