Over the course of his three-decade-long career as a leading man in Hollywood,Ben Affleckhas headlined all kinds of movies. His latest,The Accountant 2, is on the verge of passing a major global box office milestone, but has already helped Affleck’scareer earnings touch the majestic $2.5 billion mark domestically. He’s alreadyone of the 60 most successful leading actors in domestic box office history, and has recently overtaken a trio of celebrated peers in box office rankings.
Thanks toThe Accountant 2’s nearly $60 million domestic haul, Affleck has shot passed stars such asJulia Roberts,Gwyneth Paltrow, andNatalie Portman. He has also overtakenEwan McGregorandIan McKellen, both of whom have major franchise films under their belt. Affleck himself played Batman in a couple of DC Extended Universe films — not to mention the cameos that he performed in films such asThe FlashandThe Suicide Squad. But his $2.5 billion lifetime box office doesn’t include the movies he has played bit parts in.
There was a time, a couple of decades ago, when Affleck was headlining massive blockbusters that weren’t tied to franchises. In fact, three of his top five biggest areArmageddon,Pearl Harbor, andGone Girl. His highest-grossing movie remainsBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which earned $330 million at the domestic box office. His biggest hit in the last decade or so — barring the DCEU movies — was the originalThe Accountant, which made over $80 million domestically in 2016. The film attained new levels of popularity on home video, which is perhaps what pushed Amazon MGM to put a sequel in motion.
Affleck Has a Couple of Netflix Movies Lined Up
Produced ona reported budget of $80 million,The Accountant 2opened to superior reviews than its predecessor, but has been benefiting more significantly from audience support. It holds a remarkable 92% audience score on the aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, and is allset to make one last push towards the $100 million mark worldwide. Affleck doesn’t have a theatrical release lined up; his next two films,RIPandAnimals, are both set for release on Netflix. Incidentally, the majority of his post-pandemic output has been released directly on streaming, and the two major exceptions —AIRandThe Accountant 2– are also essentially streaming films that have been given theatrical runs by Amazon as a marketing strategy. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
The Accountant 2
When her former boss is killed by unknown assassins, Treasury Agent Marybeth Medina is forced to contact Christian Wolff to solve the murder. With the help of his estranged but highly lethal brother Brax, Chris applies his brilliant mind and less-than-legal methods to piece together the unsolved puzzle. As they get closer to the truth, the trio draw the attention of some of the most ruthless killers alive—all intent on putting a stop to their search.
