Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck met in 2002 when they both signed on to star in the movie Gigli. They became a couple soon after, and even got engaged later that year. However, the movie, which was released in 2003, was a box office disaster, reportedly grossing just $7 million against a $75 million budget.
Now, Affleck has opened up about why Gigli "doesn't sit right with him" in an interview with Deadline. Discussing why Artists Equity, the production company he founded with Matt Damon, is so important, Affleck referenced the famous flop he made with his soon-to-be ex-wife.
"Look, I’ve been in movies like Gigli, that's a famous example," he explained. "I got a big cash payday for that. Well, it doesn't feel right in retrospect because they lost money. It wasn't the biggest money-losing movie in history even though it was the most famous bomb in history, perhaps."
Explaining why he feels awkward about earning money from a project that lost so much, Affleck continued, "Nonetheless, that doesn't sit right with me. But it also doesn't sit right with people when they go, wait a minute, we all sacrificed to be committed to this."
Affleck also discussed the movie Unstoppable, which was produced by his company and stars Lopez. "So far, I’m really proud of everything we've done," Affleck told the outlet. "Small Things, Air, Accountant 2, The Instigators. Unstoppable, which Jennifer Lopez is terrific in."
This isn't the first time Affleck has discussed his involvement in Gigli. In a 2022 interview with Entertainment Weekly, the actor reflected on why the film didn't resonate with audiences.
"But really, the truth about that movie and what it taught me was how much everything around a movie sort of dictates the way people see it," Affleck told the outlet. "But for being a movie that's such a famous bomb and a disaster, very few people actually saw the movie. It doesn't work, by the way. It's a sort of horse's head in a cow's body."
As well as not necessarily "working" as a cohesive movie, Affleck knows that the press attention his romance with Lopez received also contributed to its failure.
"And the studio at the time, because I had begun having this relationship with Jennifer Lopez, which was selling a lot of magazines and appeared to generate a lot of enthusiasm, they just predictably latched onto, 'They want a romantic comedy,'" he explained. "'They want the two of them together. More of that!' And it was just like that SNL sketch: 'Bad Idea.'"
