Smith out on his own with record box-office opening

FOR the last man on Earth, Will Smith has a lot of friends.

The Warner Brothers film I Am Legend, starring Smith as a plague survivor who may be the last living human, debuted with $76.5 million (€52.3m), the biggest December opening ever and a personal best for one of Hollywood’s top box-office champs.

“It’s no wonder Will Smith feels so lonely. Everyone else on Earth is in the movie theatre,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers.