When will they realize?

[deleted]

When will studios realize that Ben Afleck is one of the worst actors in the buisness. This movies is flopping, all of his movies seem to flop. You think they'd get it by now. Good Will Hunting was his only good one and he still did an awful job in it. Anyone else think this?
--------------

I agree in the sense that I don't understand how someone with middling talents and looks (by Hollywood standards) manages to make movie after movie when then seem to all flop. This got me curious so I did a little research to see if the perception is reality. As you can tell, I'm FAR from an Affleck fan, but to be fair:

(All figures taken from imdb [when available], based on movies only and in which his credit appears no lower than 5th; US Gross in ticket sales.)

Hits
Chasing Amy budget: $250,000
US Gross thru Sep 97: $12,006,514

Good Will Hunting budget: $10,000,000
US Gross: $138,339,411

Armageddon budget: $140,000,000 (that's just obscene)
US Gross: $201,573,391

200 Cigarettes budget: $6,000,000
US Gross: $6,851,636

Forces of Nature (no budget given)
US Gross: $52,878,756
(It's only a guess, but I can't imagine the budget was more than $50M)

Bounce budget: $35,000,000
US Gross: $36,779,296

Pearl Harbor budget: $135,250,000
US Gross: $198,539,855

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back budget: $22,000,000
US Gross: $30,059,386

Changing Lanes budget: $45,000,000
US Gross: $66,790,248

The Sum of All Fears budget: $68,000,000
US Gross: $118,471,320

Daredevil budget: $75,000,000
US Gross: $102,543,518

In addition to these, he also appeared in small roles in hits like "Shakespeare in Love", "Boiler Room" and "Dogma".

Flops
Mallrats budget: $6,100,000 (wow!)
US Gross: $2,122,561

Phantoms (no budget given)
US Gross: $5,657,370
(with all those special effects and name actors, I doubt it cost less than $6M)

Reindeer Games budget: $36,000,000
US Gross: $23,360,779

Gigli budget: $54,000,000
US Gross: $6,068,735

Paycheck budget: $60,000,000
US Gross: $53,789,313

Jersey Girl budget: $35,000,000
US Gross: $25,266,129
(Credit appears lower than 5th, but he was the star)

Surviving Christmas (budget not given)
US Gross: $11,198,345
(Guessing it cost more than $11.2M to make and promote)

So, it seems he's had more hits than flops but the flops have mostly been in the past couple of years and been huge.

[deleted]