$75 million loss for Ben Affleck's flop Live By Night

In news that could usher in another deep funk for Ben Affleck, his movie ‘Live By Night’ has made a reported $75 million loss (around £60 million) for its studio Warner Bros.

The prohibition-era drama, which he both wrote the screenplay for and directed, has made a catastrophically poor $16.5 million (£13 million) worldwide since its release in December, and is now unlikely to bring in any more.

It cost $65 million (£52 million) to make, so with the additional millions it cost to market and distribute, Variety cites studio insiders putting its losses in the $75 million region.

Said sources reckon that the losses will try to be ‘cushioned… with home entertainment sales and rentals’, but the losses will still be huge.

Critics rounded on it too, Owen Gleiberman in Variety writing: “It’s like seeing the ghost of a terrific movie: All the pieces are in place, yet as you’re watching it (or thinking back on it afterwards), there doesn’t seem to be quite enough there.”

Indiewire added: “Ultimately, ‘Live by Night’ doesn’t suggest Affleck’s lost his groove so much as that his groove has its limits. Saddled with derivative material, he can’t seem to find a fresh approach.”

The action centres around the rise of Affleck’s Florida bootlegger and his rise through the criminal underworld, adapted from the book of the same name by Dennis Lehane.

Sadly, Affleck and stars like Chris Cooper, Elle Fanning, Sienna Miller, Zoe Saldana and Brendan Gleeson failed to bring in the crowds.

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