Will Smith stars in ‘Seven Pounds’

When: Opening Friday at local theaters

Cast: Will Smith, Rosario Dawson, Woody Harrelson, Barry Pepper

Director: Gabriele Muccino

The story: Burdened by a fateful secret, an IRS agent embarks on a quest for redemption by changing the lives of seven strangers.

The buzz: Will Smith has been a summer box-office king since “Independence Day,” but with the success of 2006’s “The Pursuit of Happyness” and 2007’s “I Am Legend,” he has become a holiday-season staple as well. This heart-tugging drama reunites Smith with “Pursuit of Happyness” director Muccino, who directed him to his second Oscar nomination (“Ali” was the first). It also reunites Smith with Dawson (who co-starred in “Men in Black II”) and Pepper (“Enemy of the State”).

By CAROL CLING