Sad Ben Affleck gets Simon and Garfunkel song into charts

Actor Ben Affleck's sad face went viral on the internet.

Sad Ben Affleck has given Simon and Garfunkel new life on the music charts.

Late last month an interviewer asked Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice stars Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill what they thought about the film's "mixed" reviews.

Cavill - who plays Superman - delivered a lengthy explanation while Batman actor Affleck sat quietly with a sad look on his face.

A parody video called "Sad Affleck" set to The Sound of Silence, a '60s ballad by Simon and Garfunkel, quickly went viral. The video has since had more than 21 million views.

In 1966 Simon & Garfunkel topped the Billboard Hot 100 Singles charts with the song, and now it seems as though "Sad Affleck" has helped them gain a generation of new fans.

This week The Sound of Silence debuted at No 6 on the Billboard Top Rock Songs chart. The parody video has also had an effect of Disturbed's 2015 cover of the song, taking it to No 3 on the Top Rock Songs chart and No 51 on the Hot 100 Singles chart, E! Online reported.

In the original interview, Cavill says, "What is going to really matter, I believe, is, well, the audiences, 'cause they're the ones who are buying tickets, they're the ones who want to see more of this kind of story or not. And so, it's the audience's voices is loudest and after this weekend, the audience will, at least partially, have spoken."

"Ben?" the interviewer asks.

"I agree," Affleck replies.

Affleck has not commented on the parody video.

Negative reviews for Batman v Superman didn't stop moviegoers from checking out the film, with the movie earning more than US$701 million (NZ$1033m) worldwide since its release.

- nzherald.co.nz