The Accountant turns 10 this week, and Ben Affleck’s unconventional action thriller still has a devoted following. Directed by Gavin O’Connor, the 2016 film stars Affleck as Christian Wolff, a certified public accountant with autism who sanitises fraudulent financial records for criminal and terrorist organisations. Here are eight things you may have missed about the film.
Shot on 35mm partly to save money
Principal photography began on January 19, 2015, in Atlanta, Georgia, and wrapped on April 2, 2015. Cinematographer Seamus McGarvey said the film was not shot digitally partly because of budget restraints. The team realised that shooting on Kodak 35mm stock could be as cost-effective, if not cheaper, than digital once time-consuming post-processing and terabytes of digital data were considered.
The action featured Pencak silat
The film’s action sequences used the Indonesian martial art Pencak silat. Sam Hargrave served as second unit director and stunt coordinator. From March 16 to March 20, filming took place at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
A graphic novel arrived before the movie
On July 9, 2015, Vertigo, then a limited comic-book imprint owned by Warner Bros. Pictures, published a graphic novelization of the film. The Accountant itself did not arrive in United States cinemas until October 14, 2016. Warner Bros. had previously scheduled it for January 29, 2016, and October 7, 2016.
It became the top-rented film of 2017
After a Digital HD release on December 27, 2016, and a Blu-ray and DVD release on January 10, 2017, the physical sales stacked up. Between January and March 2017, the film sold 463,367 DVDs and 313,279 Blu-rays for a total of $19.2 million. In April 2018, the MPAA reported it was the top-rented film of 2017 for both disc and digital.
Audiences were far warmer than critics
On Rotten Tomatoes, 53% of 285 critics’ reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.7/10. Metacritic assigned a score of 51 out of 100, indicating mixed or average reviews. But audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of A, and PostTrak gave it an 84% overall positive score, with 64% saying they would definitely recommend it.
It raised autism concerns
Some critics challenged the film’s portrayal of autism, partly because of its violence. Laurie Stephen, director of clinical services in Altadena, California, said it was concerning that the movie features a character with autism who has guns and engages in aggression and violence.
Box office and franchise potential
The Accountant made $1.35 million from Thursday-night previews, more than Affleck’s Gone Girl at $1.2 million in 2014. It opened with $24.7 million, finishing first at the box office, and ultimately grossed $155.2 million worldwide against a production budget of $44 million. Vince Mancini of Uproxx wrote that, of Affleck’s two 2016 films, The Accountant had ‘by far the most franchise potential.’
A sequel finally arrived
A sequel was announced in June 2017, with Gavin O’Connor directing and Bill Dubuque writing. The Accountant 2 was released on April 25, 2025, with Affleck, Jon Bernthal, J.K. Simmons and Cynthia Addai-Robinson reprising their roles. Plans for a third film are underway.
Which of these details did you already know? Tell us your favourite The Accountant fact.
Facts from Wikipedia: The Accountant (2016 film), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Film images from TMDB. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.
