After Earth

In the future on a human-populated space colony, Nova Prime, the S'krell extraterrestrial race attempts to take it over with creatures called Ursas, which hunt by "sensing" fear. Peacekeeping organization The Ranger Corps defeat them with a fear-suppressing technique called "ghosting," but not before an Ursa kills Senshi, the daughter of Rangers' leader Cypher Raige. Kitai, Cypher's son, blames himself for Senshi's death. He trains to become a Ranger like Cypher, but is rejected when he applies. Kitai's mother Faia convinces Cypher to take Kitai on his last voyage before retirement. During flight, however, their spaceship is caught in an asteroid shower, causing them to crash-land on Earth, which the humans evacuated a thousand years ago due to an environmental cataclysm.

The two manage to survive, but Cypher's legs are broken in the process, and the main beacon for firing a distress signal is damaged. Cypher instructs Kitai to locate the tail section of the ship, which broke off on entry to the atmosphere. Inside is the backup beacon, which they can use to signal Nova Prime. Cypher gives Kitai his weapon, a wrist communicator and six capsules of a fluid that enhances oxygen intake so he can breathe in Earth's low-oxygen atmosphere. Cypher warns him to avoid the highly evolved fauna and flora and be careful of violent thermal shifts. Kitai leaves to find the tail section, with Cypher guiding him through the communicator.

Kitai confronts many of the hazards his father warned about, including attacks from baboon-like monkeys, a venomous leech, a thermal shift, and the damaging of two of his capsules. After a story from Cypher about how he conceived "ghosting" to kill the Ursas, Kitai reaches a cliffside waterfall and Cypher learns about the broken capsules. Knowing that the only way to make it with the two capsules would be to skydive, Cypher orders Kitai to abort the mission, but Kitai, believing that Cypher still sees him as a disappointment, goes against the order after a monologue of him blaming Cypher's absence at home for Senshi's death. Kitai is captured by a large condor and his communicator is damaged. In the bird's nest, Kitai tries and fails to defend her chicks against big cats before escaping to a river, where he drifts on a raft. After a sleep where he dreams of Senshi, he wakes up to a thermal shift that nearly freezes him to death. Kitai is rescued when the bird, who had lost her brood when the cats attacked, sacrifices herself for him because Kitai tried to protect her chicks.

Kitai reaches the tail section and tries to activate the emergency beacon, but the atmosphere blocks the signal. Kitai learns that the ship's Ursa escaped and killed the rest of the crew. It attacks him, but Kitai is able to kill it using the "ghost" technique he learned from Cypher. Kitai climbs a volcano to fire the beacon, and he and Cypher get back to Nova Prime via a rescue team.

• Jaden Smith as Kitai Raige
  • Sincere L. Bobb as 3-year-old Kitai
  • Jaden Martin as 9-year-old Kitai
• Will Smith as Cypher Raige
• Sophie Okonedo as Faia Raige
• Zoë Kravitz as Senshi Raige
• Glenn Morshower as Commander Velan
• Kristofer Hivju as Security chief
• Sacha Dhawan as Hesper Pilot
• Chris Geere as Hesper Navigator
• Diego Klattenhoff as Veteran Ranger
• David Denman as Private McQuarrie
• Lincoln Lewis as Bo (Running Cadet)
• Shiva Prabhukumar as Training Cadet
• Isabelle Fuhrman as Rayna (uncredited)

Will Smith conceived this story when he was watching the television show called I Shouldn't Be Alive with his brother-in-law Caleeb Pinkett.[5] It was originally not a science fiction story but about a father and son crashing their car in the mountains or some remote region, with the son having to go out and get rescue for his father. Smith then decided to change the setting to 1000 years in the future, which imposed a higher production budget. The film was also intended to be the first in a trilogy.[6] Smith had his production company Overbrook contact Gary Whitta (who was then known for his script for The Book of Eli) with a simple log line for a film: a father and son crash landed on Earth 1000 years after it had been abandoned by humankind. Impressed with his idea and excited about the opportunity to work with him, Whitta fleshed out Smith's idea and pitched it to him, subsequently becoming the first employee on the project.

A month after the release of The Last Airbender, Smith contacted M. Night Shyamalan on August 6, 2010, to wish him a "Happy Birthday" on his 40th birthday and also to persuade him to direct his film along with his son Jaden as the star.[7] Smith and Shyamalan had planned to work on a film before but it never worked out. Impressed with the entire script, Shyamalan officially made this project—then entitled One Thousand A. E.—his next directorial effort on October 20, 2010, and quietly shelved his own secret untitled project with Bruce Willis, Bradley Cooper, and Gwyneth Paltrow loosely attached.[8] There was another starring role for an adult male, but sources indicated that Smith would not be taking it on. Sony Pictures Entertainment has a first-look deal with Overbrook, so it was expected to be the studio home for A. E.[8] Shyamalan later suggested the film would feature other members of the Smith family, and that it would not be in 3D but he had "an idea for something kind of technically interesting".[9]

In December 2011, Columbia Pictures, a subsidiary of Sony, signed up both Will and Jaden Smith to co-star in the film with Shyamalan directing. Shyamalan, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Gary Whitta, also additionally co-produced the film with James Lassiter, Ken Stovitz, Will Smith, and Jada Pinkett Smith. Doug Belgrad, president of Columbia Pictures, made the announcement and said, "Night is an outstanding filmmaker who has a tremendous vision for this science-fiction adventure story and we couldn't be more excited to be working again with Jaden after our experiences on The Pursuit of Happyness and The Karate Kid," and added "We're thrilled to have the two of them together on this project." Shyamalan also added, "The chance to make a scary, science-fiction film starring Jaden and Will is my dream project."[10] Will Smith's decision to take on the starring adult male role required him to step aside in producing and starring in the Hurricane Katrina drama The American Can, and offered the lead role to Denzel Washington instead. The shooting of the movie was also pushed back from September 2011 to January 2012.[11]

On July 25, 2011, Smith travelled to Costa Rica accompanied by an entourage of about 20 people, including Shyamalan, to scout for locations to shoot the film.[12] They visited sites like the Arenal Volcano, hot springs and a lake, and some beaches.[13]

In September 2012, Columbia committed to a June 7, 2013 release date.[14] Shyamalan also scouted locations in Philadelphia. Fifty percent of the filming was to take place at the new Sun Center Studios in Delaware County (Chester Township). Other locations would be in Costa Rica, Utah and Northern California.[15] Shyamalan also visited Valley Forge Military Academy, the filming location of Taps, for research of the film, then entitled After Earth, as Jaden Smith would be playing a military cadet of the future.[16]

The screenplay by Whitta and Shyamalan was later polished by Stephen Gaghan[17] and Mark Boal.[18] Jonathan Young, a psychologist and screenwriter, polished the mythic journey structure.[19] As reported by Screen Rant in 2020, "Some scripts sidelined Will completely in favor of his son, Jaden, but Sony wanted him on the big screen as much as possible."[20]

Principal photography for After Earth began in February 2012. Much of the filming took place in Costa Rica, Humboldt County and Aston.

After Earth also became the first film from Sony to be both shot and presented in the emerging 4K digital format.[21] It was primarily shot with Sony's CineAlta F65 camera, which was shipped in January 2012.[22] However, a skydiving sequence required a smaller sized Canon Cinema EOS C500 4K camera mounted on the helmet of a professional skydriver.[23] The cinematographer Peter Suschitzky who picked Sony F65 digital camera for the movie over other digital and film cameras, argued that benefits of film are lost when shown in theaters with digital projectors, as many are today.[21]

On April 19, 2013, Shyamalan then announced that the release date had been moved a week earlier to May 31, 2013[24] in North America and Korea, which put it against Now You See Me and The Purge, scheduled to open in the United States in the same week. A few days later, the U.S. release of The Purge was rescheduled for June 7, 2013,[25] taking over the slot vacated by After Earth.

On May 3, 2013, it was revealed that Korean-American singer Jay Park would be participating on the official soundtrack of the film in Korea, with a song titled "I Like 2 Party". Then on May 5, 2013, another 30-second snippet of the song was then released with another teaser and trailer.[26]

The estimated worldwide marketing budget for After Earth was approximately $100 million in addition to the $130 million budget to produce the film.[27] Initial marketing began online with an internet marketing campaign on Facebook and Google+, including a teaser trailer. Alongside the Facebook marketing is a Web 2.0 site that lets people scroll through different images and paragraphs in a complex dynamic way. An image of Jaden's character "Kitai" in costume was released online on February 15, 2012.[28] Later on in the same year, another theatrical teaser was released alongside a trailer for the competing Joseph Kosinski film Oblivion. On March 12, a modified version of After Earth's theatrical teaser was released as the official trailer.[29] The official trailer was broadcast as a TV Spot during late May 2013. The trailer featured the menu music of the video game Deus Ex: Human Revolution, composed by Michael McCann.[30]

In a stark contrast to his previous films, Shyamalan's name was notably absent from several trailers, TV commercials, and marketing signage.[31] Instead, Sony Pictures opted to feature Will and Jaden Smith prominently in the marketing campaign.[32] Sony's worldwide marketing and distribution chairman, Jeff Blake, said that "Night is, without a doubt, a world-class filmmaker who we were thrilled to team up with on this project," but "Together, we decided to focus our campaign on both the action and both Will and Jaden given that 'After Earth' is an adventure story of a father and son." Alex Suskind of Moviefone pointed out to Shyamalan that After Earth was not being marketed on the strength of his name unlike his previous projects, to which he responded, "There's such a specific expectation that comes with a name. It's nice to have people watch the movie and then have them talk about the storyteller; it's a healthy balance."[33]

On April 24, XPRIZE, Sony and Overbrook launched the XPRIZE After Earth Challenge, a robotics competition to promote the May 31 release of After Earth.[34]

The film premiered on May 29 at Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City, with a wide variety of celebrities attending including Bruce Willis, 50 Cent, Spike Lee, and Justin Bieber.[35] Canadian comedian Russell Peters who made fun of Shyamalan when accepting the Razzie Award on his behalf for The Last Airbender[36] also attended and even posed with Shyamalan.[37][38]

Sony Electronics hosted an exclusive 4K screening of After Earth at the Paramount Studios Theater on Friday May 31 during the 2013 Cine Gear Expo in Hollywood.[39] The event was held for registered Cine Gear Expo attendees and Sony guests from 6:30-9:30 pm[40] followed by a panel discussion with the filmmakers and production team. After guests filled the 500-plus-seat theater,[41] a second screening was held on Saturday, June 1, 2013, in order to accommodate additional guests[42] from 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm.

On June 6, the European Space Agency (ESA) partnered with Sony Pictures International to support the release of the film, stating that it shares common themes in the film of concern for Earth's future and educating the next generation.[43] ESA and Sony are holding the After Earth competition to win the opportunity to go to Bordeaux, France, and have a 'space experience' in weightlessness on a 'parabolic' flight on Novespace's ZERO-G aircraft. The winner would have received paid travel expenses to and from Bordeaux and one night's accommodation for two people and would only be eligible to participate in the reduced gravity aircraft on October 25 following a medical exam.[44]

During its opening weekend, After Earth took in $27.5 million in box office receipts in the United States and Canada.[46] Sony Pictures projected a launch of around $38 million, but the actual number was 17% lower than the lowest pre-release expectation of $33 million.[27][47] It finished in third place behind Fast & Furious 6, an action film, and Now You See Me, a caper film.[48] Taking into account the popularity of principal actor Will Smith, the disappointing finish led The Wall Street Journal to call it a "flop".[49] Ray Subers of Box Office Mojo noted the $27 million weekend placed it between 2 sci-fi flops of 2012 films with $200 million-plus budgets, Battleship ($25.5 million) and John Carter ($30.2 million), and also drew half of the co-stars' previous openings, Will Smith's Men in Black 3 ($54.6 million) and Jaden Smith's The Karate Kid ($55.7 million).[50] Scott Mendelson from Forbes argued that Sony made a mistake of not using M. Night Shyamalan's name to market the film, writing, "His name on the marquee reflects that you're not going to get a conventional genre film, that there may be something else up its sleeve."[51]

Sony Pictures spokesman Steve Elzer said a weekend take of about $30 million in the United States and Canada would be a solid number for a movie that is not a branded sequel.[52] Sony distribution chief Rory Bruer said "Certainly we would have liked to have done more, but this was always going to be a worldwide play."[53] The Hollywood Reporter reported Sony insiders also estimated a potential loss at about $20 million if the film does not gross high overseas, though estimates of top executives at several other rival studios are much higher. The film ended up losing on about $30 million overseas and rival top executives were then proven right.[46] On Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Will Smith admitted he was also disappointed with the box office performance and joked "Here's how I think about it, Jimmy, let's be honest. Three is the new one. You know how many ones it takes to make a 3?" and "It's been almost, like, in over 2 decades since I had a movie that wasn't number one! ... That's over now, buddy! Thanks!"[54][55]

On the worldwide release the following week, After Earth took in an estimated $45.5 million in 60 overseas markets, narrowly beating Fast & Furious 6 estimates of $45.3 million for the No. 1 spot at the international box office.[56][57] Including the film's launch in South Korea, After Earth made an estimated total of $48.6 million at the international box office, bringing its worldwide gross to an estimated $95,192,000. Sources for Sony Pictures International Releasing said the overall launch was bigger than debuts in the same territories of Oblivion ($45.1 million), The Last Airbender ($42.7 million) and Jaden Smith vehicle The Karate Kid ($32.3 million).[57] Sony distribution chief Rory Bruer said that Sony was happy with the overseas opening and expects much of the film's ticket sales to come from international markets and "It definitely was the exciting start we were looking for internationally."[58] The film's final numbers were $60.5 million in North America and $243.8 million worldwide.[3]

In March 2018,[113] it was revealed that After Earth was intended to be the first installment of a new franchise. Pitched to the studio by Will Smith, the intention was to launch a multimedia franchise titled 1000 AE. Plans were originally for After Earth to be followed by a sequel, a live action television series, an animated television series, webisodes, mobisodes, a video game, consumer products, theme-park attractions, documentaries, comics, an educational program collaboration in partnership with NASA, cologne and perfume lines, and a social media platform. Though Smith wanted 1000 AE to be an immersive experience for the audience, the movie ultimately was poorly received and lost money at the box office. All plans for a continuation were abandoned.[20]

• Official website
• After Earth at IMDb
• After Earth at AllMovie
• After Earth at the TCM Movie Database
• After Earth at the American Film Institute Catalog