Ben AffleckandJon Bernthalhad very little to prove to audiences when it came to their long-awaited return to screens inThe Accountant 2, but they surpassed all expectations to deliver an even better Popcornmeter score than they could have hoped for. After seeing the movie’s critical score leap up to 78% compared to the original 2016 film’s divisive 53%, audiences have ranked the film as one of Affleck’s greatest movies.
The Accountant 2landed at number 3 in the domestic box office rankings, being outdone by the re-release ofStar Wars: Revenge of the Sith, and Ryan Coogler’s impressive period vampire movie,Sinners. However, few have been able to fault the movie, and that shows in its 93% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes – up from 77% for the previous movie.
‘The Accountant 2’ Director Says Third Movie Will Feature the One Thing Missing From the Sequel
Gavin O’Connor already has some plans for a possible third ‘The Accountant’ film that would feature the return of an actor from the first movie.
It seems that the wait for the action thriller, which this time has Affleck’s Christian Wolff and his brother,Bernthal’s Braxton, teaming up in a buddy comedy mode that has elevated the film and delivered both stars some of the best reviews of their careers. In fact, the film has Affleck’s third-highest audience score as an actor, behind 2023’sAir, and the classicGood Will Hunting.
‘The Accountant 2’ Could Easily Have Remained in Development Hell
Few people predictedThe Accountantwould be a hit in 2016, with the film gaining divided opinions from critics. The story of math savant Christian Wolff (Affleck) juggling ledger sheets for shady clients by day, while employing lethal combat skills at night, caught the attention of audiences and brought about a surprising box office hit. Naturally, a sequel headed into development soon after, but between 2018 and 2024,The Accountant 2became a sequel that seemed destined to end up on the scrap heap, with no one willing to greenlight it. That was until the team decided to challenge rights holders Warner Bros. Discovery over the lack of movement on the project. According to director Gavin O’Connor:
“Well, I think there was a bit of revolving door and musical chairs going on at Warner Bros. We made the deal to write the next movie in 2018, and it was just, I don’t know, whatever dysfunction goes on in studios these days. Once Ben had his studio, we were like, ‘If you’re not going to make it, don’t hijack it and not allow us to go pursue this film we’ve been trying to make now for eight years.’ They gracefully gave us their blessing and let us leave, and we went right to Amazon, because they had heard what was going on. So, we made a deal with Amazon. It was a negative pickup, so Ben’s company, Artists Equity, financed the film, which was a joy.”
It seems that Affleck and Co are the ones laughing now, and even though the film did not manage to top the box office this weekend, its performance is certainly not a failure. With talk of a third movie already doing the rounds, this is probably not the last we have seen of Christian Wolff, and hopefully it does not take almost a decade to get cameras rolling onThe Accountant 3.
Source:Rotten Tomatoes
The Accountant 2
