Ben Affleck And Matt Damon Launch Production Company

After all, Ben and Matt were still struggling young actors before starring in Good Will Hunting, and two of the youngest ever to win the Oscar for "Best Original Screenplay." Since then, Affleck and Damon's names have become synonymous with box office success. They are unequivocally two of the biggest movie stars on the planet, yet they somehow manage to stay grounded and humble, putting the artist's experience above anything else. This, in turn, is what became the motivation for Artists Equity.

"Our goal with Artists Equity is to build a creator-focused studio that can optimize the production process with shared participation in the commercial success of projects," Ben Affleck explained via a press statement. He went on to talk about how, "Artists Equity was conceived from Matt's and my longtime passion for the art of storytelling and our shared desire to help creators deliver on their vision, as we have been fortunate to do throughout our careers."

Ben and Matt's combined box office gross is somewhere north of $10.7 billion, with the majority of those profits lining the pockets of studio executives. One of the main goals of Artists Equities is to make profits more equitable among creators, cast, and crew — especially as traditional theater numbers continue to be outdone by online streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+.

"It makes sense to us to do it now because we see a real opportunity to give artists more freedom and fair compensation along with greater responsibility and accountability," Damon said in an interview with CBS' Money Watch.

Artists Equity's first project stars Matt Damon and is directed by, you guessed it — Ben Affleck. The release is slated for sometime next year in 2023, and the company has committed to eventually releasing up to five projects per year.