Ben Stiller ThinksZoolander 2Was Misunderstood by Critics:'Hard to Think It Was That Bad'

Mar. 15, 2025

Ben Stiller in ‘Zoolander 2’.Photo:Wilson Webb/Scott Rudin Prods/Paramount/Kobal/Shutterstock

Wilson Webb/Scott Rudin Prods/Paramount/Kobal/Shutterstock

Ben Stilleris standing behindZoolander 2.

The actor, 59, opened up about the negative reception the 2016 action comedy flick received from critics while appearing on an episode ofHot Onesreleased on Dec. 5.

“Oh, man, I don’t know,” Stiller replied. “I mean, look, it’s very hard to analyze why critics like something or don’t. I’m always surprised when critics love something and I’m always surprised when they hate something because it’s so subjective.”

Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson in ‘Zoolander 2’.Wilson Webb/Scott Rudin Prods/Paramount/Kobal/Shutterstock

He went on to express his disbelief over the negative reception forZoolander 2, which currently sits onRotten Tomatoeswith a 22% from critics and an even lower audience score.

Stiller said of the sequel, “It’s hard to think it was that bad, that people didn’t like it that much. But maybe I’m wrong.”

In April, the Emmy winner, who wrote, produced, directed and starred in the movie,looked back on the movie’s releasewithDavid Duchovnyon his podcast,Fail Better.

“I thought everybody wanted this,” Stiller said of the follow-up to the 2001 comedy, which was a box office success. “And then it’s like, ‘Wow, I must have really f—ed this up. Everybody didn’t go to it. And it’s gotten thesehorrible reviews.”

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At the time, he said the movie’s poor reception made him fear that he was losing his touch.

Ben Stiller attends the photocall for Hulu’s “Nutcrackers” on Nov. 20, 2024 in West Hollywood, Calif.Phillip Faraone/FilmMagic

Phillip Faraone/FilmMagic

“It really freaked me out because I was like, ‘I didn’t know was that bad?’ '’ Stiller continued. “What scared me the most on that one was l’m losing what I think what’s funny, the questioning yourself … onZoolander 2, it was definitely blindsiding to me. And it definitely affected me for a long time.”

According toVariety, the movie only made $29 million domestically against a $50 million budget.

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Stiller recently starred in the Christmas comedyNutcrackers, which premiered Nov. 29 on Hulu.

In the movie, he plays Mike, a “strait-laced and work obsessed” man who suddenly becomes the caregiver for his four “rambunctious” nephews in rural Ohio after they are orphaned.

Next, Stiller is set to reunite with Adam Sandler inHappy Gilmore 2, in which he isreprising his role as Hal L., the nursing home orderly who lied to Sandler’s Happy about how his grandmother was being treated at the retirement home.

source: people.com