Will Smith's first non-franchise movie in years lands massive $70 million deal before filming even begins
In an interesting turn of events, Will Smith is now officially committed to star in David Gordon-Green's upcoming action-thriller directorial 'Supermax'. The plot of the movie follows two FBI Agents investigating a murder that has taken place in one of the most unlikely places - a heavily guarded and secure prison. Amazon MGM Studios recently acquired worldwide distribution rights for the upcoming movie. According to Deadline, the deal was closed at a price of $70 million.
A still of Will Smith (Image Source: Getty Images)'Supermax' originated at Miramax and is poised to be the first non-franchise studio movie starring Will Smith in recent years. The reports further add that the upcoming movie might most likely skip a theatrical release entirely, heading straight to streaming on Prime Video. The casting process for the additional characters and supporting players continues as of this writing. One of the important leading characters, Smith's partner, is a female role that has yet to be cast. Principal photography for the movie is set to kick off sometime in mid-August. The screenplay of 'Supermax' was penned by David J. Rosen and David Weil. The writer-duo have previously worked on the television series 'Invasion' and 'Hunters'. Alex Heineman and Andrew Rona from The Picture Company are on board as the producers.
Meanwhile, Smith and Adam Fishbach are producing as well, on behalf of Smith's own Westbrook. The deal between Amazon MGM Studios, and Miramax was brokered by CAA Media Finance. While the film was still under Miramax's exclusive, rumors of it traveling to the Cannes Film Festival started circulating. However, it wasn't long before the studio intervened to make sure that didn't come to pass. From Amazon's perspective, it seems justified for the studio to express its vote of confidence in the movie in general and in Smith in particular. It is widely believed in Hollywood circles that Smith is an extremely dependable leading man, perhaps matched only by Tom Cruise. Over the last three decades, Smith has delivered the most consistent box-office returns from his films, especially from his non-franchise films. The total domestic box office for his movies is upwards of $120 million.
Thus, for Amazon, Smith's star power is worth the gamble. The favorable box-office performance of Smith's 'Bad Boys: Ride Or Die,' released a full two years after the infamous slapping incident at the Oscars and Smith's only movie in four years, could have influenced the studio's decision. In conclusion, it might be speculated that 'Supermax' needs Smith to drive the movie more than Smith needs it to drive the movie.
