Will Smith has legendary box-office opening

By Scott Bowles, USA TODAY

Is Will Smith the last sure bet in Hollywood?

Analysts and even some rival studio executives were wondering Sunday after Smith's I Am Legend shattered records and expectations with $76.5 million, according to estimates from Nielsen EDI.

The sci-fi story of the last man on the planet was expected to do $50 million. Instead, it beat Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King for the largest December debut. King opened to $72.6 million in 2003.

"You can't call him the fresh prince anymore because he's the king," says Gitesh Pandya of BoxOfficeGuru.com. "He may be the last man on Earth who can sell tickets with any movie, even the riskier ones. Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks are still big stars, but their smaller projects don't do nearly as well as Smith's. The Pursuit of Happyness was supposed to be a prestige picture that wouldn't do much money but would get Smith an Oscar nomination."

Instead, last year's 2½-hour drama raked in $163 million — and earned Smith a best-actor nomination.

I Am Legend marked Smith's 11th No. 1 film and will help drive his track record even higher. Cruise's movies take in, on average, $97 million. Hanks' movies do an average $103 million, while Harrison Ford's pictures average $107 million, according to Box Office Mojo. Smith's movies typically do $120.2 million.

"You don't feel bad coming in second to Will Smith," says Chris Aronson of 20th Century Fox, which did just that with Alvin and the Chipmunks.

The blend of animation and live-action did a strong $45 million, almost $20 million above expectations. "You have to hand it to Will. He's in a league of his own."

The fantasy The Golden Compass could have used his help. The $180 million film dropped 65% from its debut last week, earning $9 million and taking third place.

The Disney fairy-tale spoof Enchanted was fourth with $6 million, followed by the Coen brothers' violent modern Western No Country for Old Men, which took fifth place with $3 million. The only other major newcomer, the family film The Perfect Holiday, met most expectations with $2.9 million and sixth place.

Small movies flourished. The offbeat family comedy Juno averaged a whopping $36,000 in 248 theaters and took in $1.4 million in its second weekend. The Kite Runner opened to $450,970 in 35 theaters for a solid per-theater average of $12,885.

Final figures are due today.