Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s complementary strengths keep audiences engaged on both big screens and streaming platforms. Getty Images
These days, Hollywood home runs are usually reserved for blockbuster franchises and massively popular IP. Are you an actor playing a superhero, wizard, Jedi or someone who is just really good at outrunning dinosaurs? Well then, step right up and claim your box office prize! Though leading your own franchise has become the star-making benchmark of the moment, some actors are still capable of moving the commercial needle without the safety net of a comic book or video game.
One way to quantify star power is surveying audiences across a number of attributes, such as awareness, fandom and desire to see in theaters or on streaming platforms. In doing so, we unearth the reasons why audiences flock to specific stars and how these actors leverage that for success today.
Four Hollywood veterans stand out by these measures after we analyze data from Greenlight Analytics (where I work as Director of Insights & Content Strategy), Nielsen and Netflix.
Sandra Bullock
Oh, Sandra, you ageless wonder. How have you managed to deliver at least one hit movie in each of the past four decades? You’re truly the Cher of actresses—and the data backs that up.
Bullock ranks among the upper-echelon percentile in a number of crucial categories, according to Greenlight Analytics: Awareness (95th percentile), Fandom (94th), Will See-Theatrical (74th), Will See-Streaming (84th), Authentic (88th), Funny (85th), Likable (92nd), Good Actor (82nd), Sexy (84th) and more.
Add it all up, and she boasts multidimensional appeal while avoiding audience fatigue (sporting very low Overexposed and Overrated scores). This has allowed her to continue drawing audiences across a variety of roles and genres, such as romantic comedy, science fiction, traditional drama and beyond. While she throws a franchise film into the mix every once in a while (Ocean’s Eight, Minions), she’s largely leading entirely new-to-screen concepts (The Lost City is underrated!).
Since 2009, seven of Bullock’s live-action films have grossed at least $100 million at the domestic box office; nine of her movies have grossed at least $200 million worldwide since 2000. In the last 24 months, six of her movies (Bird Box, The Unforgivable, Miss Congeniality, The Blind Side, Two Weeks Notice and Practical Magic) have combined for more than 93 million global views on Netflix, according to the streamer’s bi-annual Engagement Reports. Bird Box has managed to remain one of Netflix’s 10 most-watched original movies for seven years, a rare feat when the Top 10 is constantly reshuffling.
Sam Sandler
The Sandman is riding high, coming off the back of the record-breaking Happy Gilmore 2. Yes, that’s a franchise film. But its success speaks to Sandler’s larger modern advantage: he boasts one of the highest “Will See” on Streaming scores of any actor (95th percentile).
Cross-generational appeal plays a major role here as Sandler consistently connects with Gen X, Millennials and older Gen Z viewers. But thanks to his prescient move to Netflix in 2014, which coincided with the collapse of theatrical studio comedies, he’s successfully trained audiences to seek him out on streaming. And seek they have!
Since 2018, U.S. audiences have consumed more than 61 billion minutes of Adam Sandler movies (both originals and licensed) on Netflix, according to Nielsen. The ratings firm observed that it’s “the equivalent of playing over 255 million rounds of golf, or completing a kindergarten through high school education nearly 9,000 times.”
Based on name power alone, Sandler can draw viewers to new titles on streaming. It’s why new concepts such as Leo, You Are So Not Invited to my Bat Mitzvah and Murder Mystery are among his most-watched features on Netflix in the last two years.
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon
Damon and Affleck represent rare symbiotic star power that courts audiences to theaters and streamers in different ways. Both maintain theatrical pull (38–45 percent of respondents are interested in seeing them on the big screen) and even stronger streaming appeal (47–54 percent of respondents are interested in watching them on streaming).
This duo works in part because they have developed complementary strengths. Damon scores well in audience warmth and likability because he’s seen as authentic and solidly inspirational. High marks as a “Good Actor” (82 percent) reinforce his critical reputation, giving him the flexibility to try a variety of roles. Damon’s growing association with Christopher Nolan (Interstellar, Oppenheimer, The Odyssey) has provided a later career surge in commercially accessible prestige. (While his Apple TV+ action comedy original The Instigators didn’t light up the viewership charts, it did drive an impressive estimated 50,000 new subscriber sign-ups, according to Parrot Analytics).
Meanwhile, Affleck delivers conversation-driving visibility and cultural relevance, with his “Good Actor” and “Authentic” scores rising in recent years. He boasts good taste and remains a known name across generations, which helped The Accountant 2 recently become the second most-watched Amazon MGM film on Prime Video ever.
Together, the duo pulled the boardroom-centric Nike movie Air to $90 million worldwide in theaters. On streaming, Air enjoyed a solid four-week run on the Nielsen streaming Top 10 charts, including an 8.6 million-hour debut (well above the 5 million-hour floor that determines hits/flops for prestige films) and 24.5 million hours in its first month.
Final takeaway
In modern moviemaking, stars can draw audiences and viewers to non-franchise projects by cultivating specific qualities. Audiences are far more willing to buy a ticket or plop down on the couch if they find you particularly funny, sexy, authentic or talented. These attributes trickle up into the all-important desire to see a given actor in theaters or on streaming.
Yes, it’ll always help raise an actor’s profile if you become the next James Bond or Spider-Man. However, developing individual star power outside of major franchises is absolutely necessary for a long and healthy career. As the viability of theatrical releases continues to narrow and streaming eats more and more into our entertainment habits, the actors who can organically connect with audiences across the spectrum—like Bullock’s longevity or Sandler’s streaming dominance—will be the ones who can survive long after any single franchise’s lifespan.
