All this to say, no one holds this film in significantly excessive regard, or so it appears. It was the final straw in M. Evening Shyamalan’s blockbuster profession earlier than he managed to rebound with the low-budget thriller “The Go to” in 2015. For Sony, it was a trainwreck, taking in solely $251 million worldwide towards a large $130 million finances. There was no saving grace for the film on the time and, even when factoring in DVD gross sales, cable rights, and different ancillary income streams, the studio undoubtedly by no means recouped the funding.
The principle factor is that this film is by no means a hit by anybody’s rational definition. The director, stars, studio, critics, and audiences on the time all rejected it. So it is downright fascinating that it managed to ascend the Netflix charts with little-to-no promotion. It isn’t as if Netflix or Sony have been boasting that “After Earth” is now streaming. Viewers merely noticed the tile when scrolling by means of their app and, en masse, opted to look at this above hundreds of different attainable titles. That is spectacular, bizarre, and somewhat telling.
For one, it strongly signifies that Will Smith’s star energy is powerful with common viewers, even within the aftermath of the “slap” on the Oscars final 12 months. It additionally speaks volumes about the truth that viewers favor familiarity on main streaming providers, particularly with films that performed in theaters first earlier than making their solution to streaming. Even when these films have been flops, one thing boosted their profile on the time and, indirectly, helped to depart a long-lasting impression on the general public consciousness. The identical usually cannot be mentioned for direct-to-streaming releases, that are extra right here at the moment, gone tomorrow conditions.