Will Smith says this is the best movie he’s ever made — and it’s not Men in Black

With Bad Boys 4 hitting cinemas, Will Smith has revealed what he believes is the best movie of his career — and it nearly won him an Oscar.

Some people believed ‘the slap’ would cause his star to fall — but with Bad Boys: Ride or Die becoming the first new movie of 2024 to earn $100 million in its opening weekend, it’s clear that audiences haven’t fallen out of love with Smith.

To mark the fourthquel’s release, Smith sat down with Sean Evans on Hot Ones. The actor was asked to name four performances he’d want to be defined by.

Smith starts talking about his favorite performances and films at 19:18:

“I think the individual best movie, all around, that I’ve ever made is The Pursuit of Happyness,” he revealed.

“Right behind that is the first Men In Black. The direction, cinematography, and music,” he added, going on to highlight the fun he had making Bad Boys and 2019’s Aladdin remake.

“If I had to put four of them in a time capsule it would be The Pursuit of Happyness, the first Men In Black, I Am Legend, and probably King Richard,” Smith said.

Interestingly, despite being widely beloved, a box office hit (it made $307 million worldwide), and earning Smith his second Oscar nomination, The Pursuit of Happyness wasn’t lauded by critics.

It has a 69% Rotten Tomatoes score, far below the likes of Men in Black (92%, the highest-rated movie of Smith’s career), Six Degrees of Separation (88%), and even Bad Boys for Life (76%).

And yet, many people agree with his choice. “Nah for real The Pursuit Of Happyness legit one of the only films to actually make me cry at the ending,” one user tweeted, with another writing: “The Pursuit of Happyness is one of Will Smith’s best films to date. He should have won an Oscar for that. The film had me in tears.”

Make sure you check out our breakdown of the Bad Boys 4 ending and find other new movies coming to streaming in June.