Big News for Big Willie Weekend

Is Will Smith really the world's most powerful actor?

Newsweek's Sean Smith certainly thinks so, putting the artist formerly known as the Fresh Prince in the pole position on the news magazine's recent ranking of Hollywood's top five movie stars. And I heartily agree. Smith is bankable in every genre, his movies consistently open big, and he appeals to a broad international audience, which is counterintuitive to the conventional wisdom that films starring black actors don't do well overseas.

But you can't aruge with Smith's numbers (he has a worldwide career box office of $4.4 billion). Per Newsweek:

Almost every movie he's made since "Independence Day" (total gross: $817 million) has been a global blockbuster. But it wasn't easy. "People don't understand what a struggle it was," says his business partner, James Lassiter. (Smith declined to comment.) "There has always been an obstacle. It's either 'African-Americans don't sell around the world' or 'African-Americans can't have successful romantic comedies' or 'Will is not strong in drama.' It wasn't until recently that people finally looked at his numbers and went, 'Wow'."

Most crucially, that "wow" is coming from overseas. Since 2002, domestic box office has been essentially flat. Foreign markets, meanwhile, are expanding. Last year overseas ticket sales for studio films accounted for 63 percent of theatrical revenue. Black actors have had a tough time appealing to foreign audiences, because the films they're often cast in are specific to African-American culture or history--they are films about African-Americans, as opposed to films that happen to have African-Americans in them. But the roles Smith chooses are rarely race-specific. He plays men faced with obstacles, and moral choices. "Will doesn't do movies because he 'should,' but because they speak to him," says Amy Pascal, chairman of Columbia Pictures, which has released most of Smith's films. "He understands that these stories are global. He caught on to that before a lot of other people did." Starting with "Bad Boys," in 1995, Smith and Lassiter aggressively promoted Smith's movies overseas. Since then, Smith has shattered the ceiling for black actors. His foreign box office is now more than double Denzel Washington's.

Smith surpasses power perennials Tom Cruise (still trying to recover from his couch jumping incident) and Tom Hanks (still bankable but no longer viable for most leading man roles). The last hurdle for Big Willie from Philly is winning an Oscar (he's been nominated twice, for Ali and Pursuit of Happyness, but still no gold). His next film, the sci-fi thriller I Am Legend, hits theaters later this year.

Here's how Newsweek's complete list shakes out:

1. Will Smith
2. Johnny Depp
3. Ben Stiller
4. Brad Pitt
5. Tom Cruise

You may be wondering how comedian Ben Stiller managed to place third (ahead of say, Adam Sandler, Jim Carrey or Will Ferrell). Well, as Sean Smith points out, it's all about the international. "American humor doesn't always translate to other cultures," says Newsweek. "But Stiller makes relatable comedies that reach beyond borders. In addition to the Meet the Parents franchise ($818 million), his latest film Night at the Museum, grossed $550 million worldwide."