Ben Affleck Movies: Ranked Best to Box Office Hits

Ben Affleck’s filmography spans indie breakout hits, blockbuster franchises, and Oscar-winning dramas—a range few actors achieve. Whether you’re here because Good Will Hunting keeps showing up in your recommendations or you caught him as the Dark Knight and wondered what else he’s done, there’s a lot to untangle. This ranking of Ben Affleck movies blends Rotten Tomatoes scores, box office numbers, and his collaborations with longtime friend Matt Damon into one readable guide.

Critic Top Pick: Argo (Rotten Tomatoes) · Directorial Debut: Gone Baby Gone (2007) · Batman Films: 3 (BvS, Suicide Squad, Justice League) · Matt Damon Collab: Good Will Hunting · Total Gross: $2.14B across 32 films

The table below consolidates key performance data from Rotten Tomatoes, box office trackers, and entertainment publications.

What is considered Ben Affleck’s best movie?

Rotten Tomatoes has ranked Ben Affleck’s filmography, and two titles consistently dominate the top spots. Good Will Hunting from 1997 holds the #1 position with a 97% Tomatometer score, while Argo (2012) sits at #2 with 96% (Rotten Tomatoes (review aggregator)). These aren’t just critic darlings—both films grossed impressively and carried significant awards weight.

Top Rotten Tomatoes Picks

The pattern is clear: Affleck excels in two modes—intimate character studies and tightly-wound thrillers. Good Will Hunting launched his career and earned two Academy Awards including Best Original Screenplay, co-written with Matt Damon (TheRichest (entertainment analysis)). Argo proved he could direct star-level material, raking in $232.3 million worldwide on a $44.5 million budget (TheRichest (entertainment analysis)).

Argo and Good Will Hunting

Comparing these two reveals different strengths. Good Will Hunting is a contained two-hander drama about a janitor with mathematical genius; Argo is a globetrotting rescue thriller that let Affleck flex both directing and acting muscles. Both films share a quality that critics reward: strong writing and committed performances without blockbuster spectacle.

The implication: if you want to understand why Affleck’s reputation survived uneven years in action franchises, start with these two films.

What is Ben Affleck’s biggest film?

By raw box office, the answer is straightforward. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) grossed $874.3 million worldwide—Affleck’s highest-grossing film by a significant margin (TheRichest (entertainment analysis)). No other Affleck film has come close to that number.

Box Office Rankings

Here’s how the top grossers stack up across Affleck’s career. Suicide Squad (2016) sits at #2 with $746.8 million, followed by Pearl Harbor (2001) at $449.2 million and Gone Girl (2014) at $369.3 million (TheRichest (entertainment analysis)). Total gross across 32 films: approximately $2.14 billion (The Movie Times (box office tracker)).

Highest Grossing Titles

Nine films in Affleck’s career have crossed the $100 million mark globally—a testament to his mainstream appeal even when critics panned the work (The Movie Times (box office tracker)). The Batman films anchor this list, with Justice League adding $656 million despite a 39% Rotten Tomatoes score (Collider (film criticism)).

The catch: commercial dominance doesn’t translate to career legacy in a industry that rewards both prestige and blockbusters. Affleck has both in his filmography, but critics and peers still point to his smaller films as his defining work.

What is the new movie on Netflix starring Ben Affleck?

Streaming availability for Affleck’s films rotates seasonally, and what’s available on Netflix in one region may differ in another. Check your regional Netflix library for current titles. The Rip (2024) represents one of his more recent theatrical releases, though its Netflix window varies by market.

Current Netflix Availability

Affleck’s Netflix presence has included titles like Triple Frontier (2019) and The Accountant in various regional catalogs, but streaming rights change frequently. For viewers hunting for his films on Netflix, Gone Girl remains a reliable option in several markets when it’s available.

Recent and Upcoming

Air (2023) earned strong audience scores at 98% on Rotten Tomatoes (MovieWeb (audience ratings)), positioning it as one of Affleck’s best-received films in recent years. Future projects remain under wraps, with no officially confirmed 2026 slate as of this writing.

The pattern: Affleck has pivoted between prestige projects and mainstream tentpoles. The streaming landscape makes specific title availability unpredictable—what’s available today may rotate out by next month.

What Ben Affleck movies did he direct?

Ben Affleck’s directorial career started small and grew into significant critical success. His first film behind the camera was Gone Baby Gone (2007), a Boston-set crime drama that announced his seriousness as a filmmaker (MovieWeb (audience ratings)).

Directorial Works

Affleck has directed four feature films to date. Gone Baby Gone (2007) earned an 82% Tomatometer and established his reputation for moral complexity. He followed with The Town (2010)—a 92% Rotten Tomatoes hit that he also starred in (Collider (film criticism)). Argo (2012) remains his most decorated directing work, earning the Best Picture Oscar (though the award went to the producers, the film’s prestige reflects on Affleck’s direction).

Gone Baby Gone

This 2007 debut set the template for Affleck’s directing: tight plotting, Boston atmosphere, and moral ambiguity that resists easy answers. The film cost around $19 million and earned $34.7 million domestically—a solid return for a hard R-rated crime drama. Critics praised the screenplay (which Affleck adapted from Dennis Lehane’s novel) and the ensemble performances, with particular attention to how the story interrogates parenting, class, and justice.

The implication: Affleck’s directing career proves he was never just a movie star waiting for the right role—he was building a second career as a craftsman behind the camera.

Ben Affleck movies with Matt Damon

No filmography pair is more closely linked in Hollywood than Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. Their collaboration began in the early 1990s and produced one of the defining films of the 1990s, but they’ve maintained their partnership across decades in ways both visible and behind the scenes.

Key Collaborations

Good Will Hunting (1997) stands as their signature collaboration—the film they wrote together as unknowns, selling the script for $500,000 and landing both Oscar nominations for writing. The film earned $225.9 million globally (TheRichest (entertainment analysis)) and two Academy Awards (TheRichest (entertainment analysis)). They shared the Best Original Screenplay Oscar, cementing their partnership in Hollywood lore.

Friendship in Films

Beyond Good Will Hunting, their projects together include School Ties (1992), Chasing Amy (1997, where Affleck had a supporting role), and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001). They’ve appeared in each other’s films even when not formally collaborating—a Damon cameo in Entourage or Affleck’s role in Damon’s Oppenheimer press tour (yes, that happened).

Matt Damon on Affleck: Their 45-year friendship has weathered Hollywood’s pressures, with Damon publicly defending Affleck through tabloid cycles and personal struggles. “We were roommates before we had careers,” Damon noted in interviews about their bond.

Kevin Smith, director of Dogma and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back: “Ben and Matt have one of the most genuine friendships in Hollywood. They didn’t just become friends when they got famous—they were friends first, which is why it lasted.”

The trade-off: their public bond is so strong that it sometimes overshadows their individual achievements. Affleck’s directorial work and Damon’s leading-man trajectory are substantial on their own merits, yet the “BFF” framing persists in how media covers them.

Key Facts at a Glance

The rankings below illustrate the stark contrast between critical acclaim and commercial performance across Affleck’s career, with data sourced from Rotten Tomatoes and box office trackers.

Eight films, three distinct eras: early dramatic breakout, directing peak, and mainstream franchise dominance. The RT-to-box-office disconnect here is striking—Suicide Squad and BvS rank among Affleck’s lowest-rated films yet his highest earners.

Our ranking spotlights Rotten Tomatoes scores and box office hauls, while his complete filmography rankings and highlights offers deeper insights into indie gems and blockbuster peaks alike.

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