Artists Equity

Artists Equity is an American production company founded by actors and filmmakers Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in November 2022.

History


In June 2022, It was announced that American actors and filmmakers Ben Affleck and Matt Damon would be launching a new production company with financial backing from American investor Gerry Cardinale through his investment management firm RedBird Capital. In November 2022, the company was founded by Affleck and Damon, who partnered with Cardinale and received financial backing from RedBird Capital.

The company's management consists of Affleck as chief executive officer, co-founder and partner, Damon as co-founder and partner, Cardinale as partner, and Michael Joe as the company's chief operating officer. Joe was the former chief operating officer of STX Films, and former executive vice president at Universal Pictures. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles County, California.

In 2023, the company's first film, Air, directed by and starring Affleck as Phil Knight, and Damon as Sonny Vaccaro premiere at South by Southwest on March 18, 2023, and was released worldwide on April 5, 2023. The film is based on true events about the origin of Air Jordan, a basketball shoeline by professional basketball player Michael Jordan and Nike, Inc. The film grossed $90 million worldwide on a budget of $70–90 million, and received positive reviews from critics, earning Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Damon's performance.

Also in 2023, the company's first documentary film, Kiss the Future, documents the underground music scene in Sarajevo during the Bosnian War, and covers U2's involvement in bringing attention to the Siege of Sarajevo and their 1997 concert in the city. The documentary film premiered at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival in February 2023, and was released cinematically by AMC Theatres in February 2024.

In 2024, the company worked on the productions of The Greatest Love Story Never Told (2024), a music documentary film about the making of the album This Is Me... Now by American entertainer Jennifer Lopez (the wife of Affleck), and the historical drama film Small Things like These (2024), starring and produced by Cillian Murphy, which is based on the 2021 novel of the same name by Claire Keegan.

The company's upcoming productions include, the action thriller film The Accountant 2, a direct sequel to The Accountant (2016) which is directed by Gavin O'Connor, written by Bill Dubuque, and stars Affleck, the heist thriller film The Instigators, starring both Damon and Affleck, directed by Doug Liman, and written by Chuck Maclean and Casey Affleck (Affleck's brother), the musical drama film Kiss of the Spider Woman, based on the novel and musical of the same name, directed by Bill Condon and starring Lopez, and the biographical sports drama film Unstoppable, based on the book of the same name by Anthony Robles and Austin Murphy, directed by William Goldenberg, and starring Lopez.

Upcoming

 * The Accountant 2 (with Zero Gravity Management and 51 Entertainment)
 * The Instigators (with Studio 8, The Walsh Company, and Apple Studios)
 * Kiss of the Spider Woman (with Nuyorican Productions, Josephson Entertainment, Tom Kirdahy Productions, and 1000 Eyes)
 * Unstoppable (with Nuyorican Productions)

In production

 * Animals (with Fifth Season and MakeReady)
 * RIP (with Netflix)