Ben Affleck may have starred in bigger movies but I think it’s safe to say The Accountant is his most successful of the last few years. Well-liked by audiences but mostly dismissed by critics (I dug it!), the unusual thriller that saw him as a math savant/assassin did modest business overall with $155M worldwide on a $40M budget. Not exactly numbers that scream for a sequel, but we know one is in the works with Affleck and director Gavin O’Connor (Who directed the shit out of the first one, f’real.) returning. So what’s driving the need for more?
Turns out The Accountant was the most rented movie for all of 2017 based on an MPAA report. It beat out bigger blockbusters, and far more family-friendly fare such as Moana and Wonder Woman on the list of digital rentals. Well, damn. That explains it.
That The Accountant was able to expand its audience in home release based on word-of-mouth is a credit to Affleck, O’Connor, and Warner Bros. who probably didn’t predict they had a franchise on their hands. The people spoke with their time and their dollars, so let’s see how they react to the sequel. [THR]
