Ben Stiller Thinks Zoolander 2 Was Misunderstood by Critics: ‘Hard to Think It Was That Bad’

Ben Stiller is standing behind Zoolander 2. 

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

During his appearance, host Sean Evans – recently named one of PEOPLE’s 2024 Creators of the Year – asked Stiller which of his movies “was most misunderstood or treated unfairly by critics, now with the benefit of hindsight.”

“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.”

He went on to express his disbelief over the negative reception for Zoolander 2, which currently sits on Rotten Tomatoes with 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 release with David Duchovny on 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 these horrible reviews.”

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

“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 … on Zoolander 2, it was definitely blindsiding to me. And it definitely affected me for a long time.”

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

Stiller recently starred in the Christmas comedy Nutcrackers, 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.

The nephews are played by real-life brothers Homer, 13, Ulysses, 11, Atlas, 8, and Arlo Janson, 8, in their movie debuts.

Next, Stiller is set to reunite with Adam Sandler in Happy Gilmore 2, in which he is reprising 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.