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All this to say, nobody holds this movie in particularly high regard, or so it seems. It was the last straw in M. Night Shyamalan’s blockbuster career before he managed to rebound with the low-budget thriller “The Visit” in 2015. For Sony, it was a trainwreck, taking in only $251 million worldwide against a massive $130 million budget. There was no saving grace for the movie at the time and, even when factoring in DVD sales, cable rights, and other ancillary revenue streams, the studio undoubtedly never recouped the investment.
The main thing is that this movie is in no way a success by anyone’s rational definition. The director, stars, studio, critics, and audiences at the time all rejected it. So it’s downright fascinating that it managed to ascend the Netflix charts with little-to-no promotion. It’s not as though Netflix or Sony were boasting that “After Earth” is now streaming. Viewers simply saw the tile when scrolling through their app and, en masse, opted to watch this above thousands of other possible titles. That’s impressive, weird, and rather telling.
For one, it strongly indicates that Will Smith’s star power is strong with general viewers, even in the aftermath of the “slap” at the Oscars last year. It also speaks volumes about the fact that viewers favor familiarity on major streaming services, especially with movies that played in theaters first before making their way to streaming. Even when those movies were flops, something boosted their profile at the time and, in some way, helped to leave a lasting impression on the public consciousness. The same often can’t be said for direct-to-streaming releases, which are more here today, gone tomorrow situations.
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