The Last Duel’s Ben Affleck nominated for a Razzie

The Razzie’s have released their nominations and fans are particularly upset over Ben Affleck being included.

The internet was angry when news came down that Ben Affleck was nominated for a Razzie for Worst Supporting Actor this year in The Last Duel. The Razzies celebrate the worst performances and films each year in direct contrast with award ceremonies like the Oscars, which celebrates the best of the best.

What’s funny is Affleck had legitimate Oscar buzz for months, in the face of the poor performance of The Last Duel at the box office, which makes the slight even more perplexing.

Twitter reacts to Ben Affleck’s Razzie nomination

The Last Duel’s $30 million worldwide box office pales in comparison to the $100 million budget, but the film was in no way poorly received critically. The critical and audience reception were both above 80% on Rotten Tomatoes, and if anything, the acting performances carried the movie, namely Jodi Comer and Affleck.

Affleck’s performance is whimsical, but essential to showing the audience of how hollow those in power’s competence can be. Affleck portrays Count Pierre d’Alencon, the overlord in power Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon) and Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver) must swear fealty to. Some of Affleck’s lines are purely comedic and brings a levity to The Last Duel where it otherwise lacks.

The Razzies are widely regarded as a joke award, typically poking fun at the movies of the year that didn’t quite “work,” to put it nicely. Having seen the widespread and noisy backlash, it’s good to see that people can still rally around good performances and give credit where it’s due. Maybe the next Razzies award season will omit the performances that audiences love and go back to the mocking “all-in-good fun” nature that we’re used to.

The Last Duel is available to stream right now on HBO Max.