Will Smith’s 1999 sci-fi western flop Wild Wild West—costing a reported $170 million and grossing about $220 million worldwide—has landed on free streaming via Tubi. Years after the movie opened to extremely poor reviews and earned a 16% score on Rotten Tomato
For years, Wild Wild West has carried the kind of box-office weight that doesn’t fade—especially when it’s remembered alongside one different franchise it could have strengthened instead. Now, the 1999 sci-fi western is back in the spotlight for a simpler reason: it’s streaming for free.
The movie—headlined by Will Smith. who infamously passed on The Matrix to star in it—runs 106 minutes and hit theaters on June 30. 1999. It was based on a television series from the 1960s. and the feature was written by three pairs of writers: Brent Maddock. Jeffrey Price. Peter S. Seaman, S.S. Wilson, Jim Thomas, and John Thomas. Jon Peters is credited as the producer.
Wild Wild West wasn’t just ambitious; it was heavily marketed by Warner Bros. That kind of backing didn’t prevent an opening to extremely poor reviews. On the Rotten Tomatoes aggregator website. the film holds a 16% score. with the consensus reading: “Bombastic. manic. and largely laugh-free. Wild Wild West is a bizarre misfire in which greater care was lavished upon the special effects than on the script.”.
The numbers underline the mismatch. The movie cost a reported $170 million and grossed around $220 million worldwide. It also reunited Smith with his Men in Black director, Barry Sonnenfeld, and the cast includes Kevin Kline, Salma Hayek, and Kenneth Branagh.
Smith has revisited that pivotal career choice more than once, and the regret is unmistakable. He later expressed regret about choosing Wild Wild West over The Matrix. which was critically acclaimed and massively successful at the box office. In a YouTube video. Smith admitted he isn’t proud of underestimating the Wachowskis and said. “If I had done it — because I’m Black — then Morpheus wouldn’t have been Black because they were looking at Val Kilmer. I was going to be Neo and Val Kilmer was going to be Morpheus. I probably would’ve messed The Matrix up, I would’ve ruined it. So I did y’all a favor.”.
If you want to watch it without paying a dime, Wild Wild West is available on Tubi. And with Smith’s comments still echoing years later, the free release feels less like a casual re-watch and more like a reminder of a trade that didn’t land the way anyone hoped.
A wider Star Wars disappointment is also part of the broader conversation around this kind of box-office misfire. with The Mandalorian and Grogu effectively wiped out at the box office by the massively successful horror hits Obsession and Backrooms. Those two horror films cost less than $1 million and $10 million, respectively, and have grossed more than $300 million worldwide each. The Mandalorian and Grogu is poised to finish its theatrical run as the lowest-grossing film of the three—despite a reported $165 million production cost and millions more to market—and the new Star Wars movie is also the lowest-grossing installment of the legendary franchise. It has virtually no chance of outgrossing Solo: A Star Wars Story, which made around $390 million worldwide in 2018.
Wild Wild West Will Smith Barry Sonnenfeld Tubi Rotten Tomatoes The Matrix Wachowskis Solo: A Star Wars Story The Mandalorian and Grogu Obsession Backrooms
Wild Wild West being free on Tubi is wild lol
I watched it like once years ago and it felt like a whole ad for CGI. 16% on Rotten Tomatoes doesn’t surprise me at all. Still kinda wanna see if it’s really that bad.
Wait so Will Smith passed on The Matrix for this? That’s honestly tragic, like I get actors gotta make money but cmon. Also I thought Warner Bros killed it already, so why is it free now like years later? Seems like they’re just trying to clean up the bad reviews by baiting people into Tubi.
Tubi has everything free but they’ll still put commercials every 3 minutes. Anyway, the budget numbers sound fake to me, like $170 million?? That movie didn’t look THAT expensive. And if it only made $220 million worldwide, that’s basically a loss right? Unless they count merch or something. Also Barry Sonnenfeld directing should’ve helped… unless it was the script.