Will Smith has admitted he was devastated when his film After Earth flopped, because it made him realise he could fail at the box office.

The Hollywood star – who produced and starred in the film alongside his son Jaden – said he prefers to judge his movies by the money they make rather than awards, which is why he was so badly affected when the 2013 sci-fi action adventure bombed.

Jaden and Will Smith in After Earth
Jaden and Will Smith co-starred in After Earth (Columbia Pictures)

“When people go to work, and work hard, and they have their money on a Friday night and decide what they’re going to spend their money on, for me that’s a greater vote of confidence than any award,” he said.

Will said of it flopping: “It was emotionally devastating.

“[Before that] I was like, ‘I smash at the box office. I’m number one’, and then for that to happen, to realise that, ‘Oh shoot, I can lose’, was really emotionally difficult for me. I had to back up for a second.”

The 46-year-old said he now doesn’t mind so much how his latest film, Focus, fares.

Will Smith and Margot Robbie in a scene in Focus
Will Smith and Margot Robbie co-star in Focus (PA Photo/Warner Bros/Frank Masi)

“I don’t care if it’s number one or if it’s 10, I cannot allow myself to be defined by the success or failure of my movie,” said the star, who plays a con artist in the romantic comedy-drama.

“It was hugely liberating for me and I’m going to shift from the goal orientation, which made me crazy for a couple of years, to path orientation and being in the moment.”

Focus is released on Friday, February 27.