Summary
- Henry Cavill’s latest film,
Argylle
, has been a disappointment at the box office, with a 62% drop-off in its second weekend. - Cavill’s recent career has been struggling after leaving major roles as Superman and Geralt, and Argylle was seen as his best shot at a big spy franchise.
- While critics have been harsh, audience scores have been more positive, but the low box office numbers raise concerns for the future of the franchise.
Despite opening its marketing campaign with an intriguing teaser, delivering a competent trailer and a star-studded music video, Matthew Vaughn’s Argylle has proven to be something of a disappointment both in its terrible run of reviews and now its second dismal weekend at the box office. For star Henry Cavill, the 62% drop-off this weekend is his worst result in eight years.
Argylle
2/5
- Release Date
- February 2, 2024
- Runtime
- 2hr 15min
- Studio
- Apple Original Films, Apple Studios, Cloudy Productions
- Tagline
- Once you know the secret don’t let the cat out of the bag.
Cavill has not had a great time recently, having departed his two biggest roles as Superman in the DCEU and Geralt in Netflix’s The Witcher, the ever-popular actor doesn’t seem to be able to land a hit to match his fan appeal. With his often-touted potential as a James Bond of the future also seeming to have gone by the wayside, Argylle looked like his best shot at getting his own big spy franchise off the ground. Although there are clearly plans for more from Argylle, it has a lot to prove in the coming weeks when it makes a movie from the big screen to its streaming home on Apple TV+.
Argylle currently holds a 32% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes, which is not that surprising, as many of Cavill’s movies have failed to connect with critics. Audiences have been more generous with a 71% score but, at the same time, don’t appear to have been flocking in their thousands to see the movie in cinemas. This has seen the movie following up its opening domestic weekend of $17 million with an incredibly low $6.6 million. This does not bode well for a movie that reportedly needs around $300 million to start making a profit.
Can Argylle Be Redeemed By Its Streaming Debut?
The cinematic experience is one that has been dramatically changed in the last four years following the Covid pandemic. Exacerbated by the rise in streaming platforms during that time, Argylle is the perfect example of a movie that, even with its negative reviews, could have done big business at the box office if it had been released in 2019. However, now there are many people who are willing to forego the cost of a trip to see a movie on the big screen that they can watch on a streaming platform just weeks or a few months later.
Partly funded by Apple TV+, Argylle will stream on their platform following its cinema run, and it is likely to become one of their biggest releases when it drops. The real question is whether this will be enough for Vaughn to continue the franchise as intended, with two further movies already planned. Box office results are no longer the singular measure of success of movies, but the hugely disappointing numbers in that department could see Argylle’s future movies being stuck with a streaming only release.
Argylle
is playing in cinemas now.
Argylle & Kingsman Crossover Addressed by Matthew Vaughn: ‘We Can Do Whatever We Want With It’
Director Matthew Vaughn has discussed the idea of bringing the worlds of Argylle and The Kingsman together on the big screen.
