Ben Affleck’s $155M Hit Thriller Finds New Success On Netflix 8 Years Later

Summary

• The Accountant
  , starring Ben Affleck, sees new success on Netflix’s Global Top 10 with 13.2 million hours viewed on the platform.
• Despite mixed reviews, the film’s performance led to a sequel now in the works, with Affleck and main cast members returning for the project.
• The success of
  The Accountant
  on Netflix has paved the way for a streaming-only release of the sequel on Prime Video, ensuring further success.

The Accountant finds new success on Netflix’s Global Top 10 chart eight years after making over $155 million at the box office. Released in 2016, the action-thriller stars Ben Affleck as Christian Wolff, a math savant and certified public accountant who uncooks books for dangerous criminal organizations. Other than Affleck, The Accountant cast also includes Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Jeffrey Tambor, and John Lithgow.

Now, eight years after making over $155 million at the box office, Ben Affleck’s action-thriller has found new success on Netflix. For the week of March 25-31, The Accountant ranked fourth on Netflix’s Global Top 10 chart with 13.2 million hours viewed and 6.2 million total views. This ranked just behind new Netflix originals like Lindsay Lohan’s Irish Wish and Millie Bobby Brown’s Damsel, which are enjoying their third and fourth weeks in the Top 10, respectively.

The Accountant’s Surprise Success Has Made A Sequel Possible

The Accountant was released in theaters in 2016 and although the studio expected a more conservative $15 million opening weekend, it exceeded expectations by making over $24 million, marking Ben Affleck’s second-biggest debut for a thriller behind Gone Girl, which opened to $37.5 million. The Accountant went on to become a serious sleeper hit at the box office, more than tripling its mid-sized $44 million budget by making $155.2 million. Now, eight years later, the thriller has found new success as a streaming hit on Netflix.

This success is despite The Accountant‘s mixed reviews from critics, including criticism of the portrayal of the main character’s autism. However, Ben Affleck’s performance still received praise, as did its action sequences for incorporating Pencak silat, a form of full-body fighting from Indonesian martial arts. Despite a 53% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, its 76% audience score is a better signifier of its success. Its Critics Consensus reads, “The Accountant writes off a committed performance from Ben Affleck, leaving viewers with a scattershot action thriller beset by an array of ill-advised deductions.”

This success has made The Accountant 2 possible, which is officially in the works with most of the main cast returning, including Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, and J.K. Simmons. Though no official plot details have been revealed, The Accountant ending suggests that the sequel could see Christian and his brother Brax teaming up. With The Accountant becoming a streaming success on Netflix, the sequel should be primed for similar success considering it will receive a streaming-only release on Prime Video.

The Accountant
is also streaming on the TBS and TNT apps.

Source: Netflix