The action thriller with Ben Affleck and J.K. Simmons that is a hit on Netflix: already has a sequel in the works

Released in theaters in 2016, the movie The Accountant is finding a new audience since its entry into the Netflix catalog, where it has entered directly at number two of the most viewed on the platform this weekend.

Ben Affleck leads a cast of familiar faces in this action thriller, in which the actor plays Christian Wolff, a math genius with more affinity for numbers than for people.

Using a small town accounting office as a cover, he makes a living as a freelance accountant for dangerous criminal organizations, for which he cleans up financial records and launders money.

With a Treasury agent on his heels, Christian accepts a cutting-edge robotics company as a legitimate client. As Wolff gets closer to the truth about a discrepancy involving millions of dollars, the body count starts to rise.

A cast of familiar faces

'The Accountant'

Affleck is joined by actors such as Anna Kendrick as Dana Cummings, an accountant at Living Robotics who notices irregularities with her books; J. K. Simmons as Ray King, the Director of FinCEN at the Treasury Department; and Jon Bernthal as Brax (Braxton), Christian's brother, who runs a high-level security company for clients.

Also featuring Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Marybeth Medina, a young Treasury agent tasked with uncovering the true identity of The Accountant; Jeffrey Tambor as Francis Silverberg, former Mafia accountant, and Wolff's coach on how to launder money when they were incarcerated; John Lithgow as Lamar Blackburn, the CEO of Living Robotics; and Jean Smart as Rita Blackburn, Lamar's sister who hires Wolff to inspect the company's books, among others.

A sequel is in the works

The Accountant grossed $86.3 million in the United States and Canada and $68.9 million in other countries, for a global revenue of $155.2 million, against a production budget of $44 million.

It earned $9.1 million on its first day and $24.7 million on its opening weekend, finishing first at the box office. It was the second highest debut for an Affleck thriller, only behind Gone Girl ($37.5 million).

In June 2017, a sequel was announced to be in development, with Gavin O'Connor and Bill Dubuque returning in their respective roles as director and writer and most of the cast reprising their original roles, with Affleck again as the lead.  

Controversy over its portrayal of autism

Although Ben Affleck's portrayal of a character with autism was well received by a sector of critics, like Vince Mancini from Uproxx, who highlighted that "It's transparent in its attempt to both promote a future franchise and give autistic children their own superhero," the movie was deemed "offensive to people with autism" by some organizations.

One of the most vocal critics was Laurie Stephen, director of clinical services in Altadena, California, who said "it is concerning that a movie presents a character with autism who has guns and engages in this kind of aggression and violent acts."

*This article has been automatically translated using artificial intelligence