BREAKING NEWS : Ben Affleck looks downcast returning to office after his Brentwood home narrowly survived LA fire

Ben Affleck appeared a bit downcast as he returned to his Artists Equity office in Los Angeles on Sunday after being temporarily forced to evacuate his $20.5M five-bedroom, six-bathroom Brentwood mansion for days amid the wildfires.

The Berkeley-born, Cambridge-raised 52-year-old hauled what appeared to be a ripped-up piece of luggage while wearing a khaki suit over a lavender button-up shirt.

Ben co-founded the artist-led independent production company in 2022 with his BFF Matt Damon and Gerry Cardinale of RedBird Capital.

On January 7, Affleck – who was visited by the FBI on January 12 amid an unauthorized drone investigation – fled his house to briefly stay at his ex-wife Jennifer Garner‘s $7.8M four-bedroom Brentwood Park home, which was also spared from the blaze.

Firefighters have entered day 12 of the battle against two different wildfires destroying nearly 40K acres with the Palisades fire being 52% contained and the Eaton (Altadena) fire being 81% contained.

Officials have confirmed 27 deaths, over 13,600 destroyed structures, thousands remain evacuated, and economic loss is estimated to cost between $135B-$150B.

Celebrities who’ve lost their homes in the blaze include Mel Gibson, Paris Hilton, Jeff Bridges, Anna Faris, Cary Elwes, Diane Warren, Anthony Hopkins, John Goodman, Eugene Levy, Steve Guttenberg, Jennifer Grey, Ricki Lake, Matt Damon, Miles Teller, Billy Crystal, and Adam Brody, and Heidi Montag.

The two-time Oscar-winning filmmaker’s divorce from estranged second wife Jennifer Lopez might be officially finalized on February 20, but their artistic partnership lives on.

Ben produced Bill Condon’s Kiss of the Spider Woman remake starring the 55-year-old pop diva, Tonatiuh, and Diego Luna – which will have its world premiere at Eccles Theatre in Park City, UT next Sunday during the Sundance Film Festival.

When Parade asked Jennifer on January 8 if the big-screen version of the 1992 West End musical will be on par with Wicked, she replied: ‘It’s a beautiful movie, but it’s very different than Wicked.

‘It feels in a way more indie, but it’s impactful and important and relevant. I’m very excited for people to see it.’

Lopez took on three different characters – Leni Lamaison, Marta, and Spider Woman – in the upcoming drama set in an Argentinian prison in 1981, which has yet to secure distribution.

The couple formerly known as ‘Bennifer’ still need to sell their $68M 12-bedroom, 24-bathroom megamansion in Beverly Hills aka Crestview Manor, which they originally paid $60.85M for in May 2023.

Last month, Affleck was hard at work on the LA set of Joe Carnahan’s Netflix crime thriller RIP portraying a Miami cop alongside Damon, Steven Yeun, Teyana Taylor, Sasha Calle, Catalina Sandino Moreno, and Scott Adkins.