Who's the better actor, Matt Damon or Ben Affleck? Science has the answer

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. A 'bromance' so robust and compelling, it pre-dates the very term itself. 

After exploding on to the Hollywood scene in 1997 with their self-penned classic, Good Will Hunting (and earning two Academy Award for their troubles), both actors have enjoyed blockbuster - if a bit seesaw - careers. Nearly two decades later, a press opportunity scarcely passes without one playfully gushing about the other.

Damon recently deadpanned that he's unlikely to star in the forthcoming Batman film Affleck's directing, for no other reason than his former co-star "gives himself the best role in all his movies". The Jason Bourne actor also claims to have passed on (criminally abysmal) Daredevil (2003) before it was offered to his Affleck, despite Affleck's insistence Damon was "clawing" for the role.

So with their fraternal bond most likely to continue off - not on - screen for the foreseeable future, there remains one pertinent and unanswered question: Who is the better actor?

Sure, Affleck has the perplexingly naff Batman v Superman, Gigli and Daredevil detracting from the likes of of Argo, The Town and Gone Girl, though Damon is by no means a saint. Lest we forget, for every Bourne there's a Monuments Men.

But rather than argue the toss like a pair of pub-dwelling football fans, science has, thankfully, come to the rescue. Datavisi.com has crunched the numbers and the winner is...

via GIPHY

While Ben Affleck's box office return against production budget is slightly greater, the site points out Damon's movies gross more on average. Perhaps most crucially, he also tends to make better films - with the bulk of Affleck's lifetime gross coming from Batman v Superman (2015), Armageddon (1998) and Pearl Harbour (2001); all of which were critically slated.

Damon is the clear victor when it comes to ratings, too - with an average 67 per cent score on Rotten Tomatoes versus Affleck's less impressive 54 per cent. This gap widens further when the movies are weighted by gross, with Damon shooting to 76 per cent, Affleck dropping to 53 per cent.

The entire study can be found over at Datavisi, and makes for fascinating reading. Unless your surname just so happens to be 'Affleck' and first name 'Ben', that is.

Still, look on the bright side - if nothing else this represents the perfect opportunity to wheel out this beautifully tragicomic clip once more (soz, Ben).