Summary
- Henry Cavill’s spy caper
Argylle
flopped in theaters, but might redeem itself on Apple TV. - Vaughn had big plans for
Argylle
to become a trilogy, but poor box office results may end those dreams prematurely. - Despite harsh reviews, Vaughn hopes to expand his spy universe with more films, but it probably all depends on
Argylle’s
streaming success.
Argylle, Henry Cavill’s lackluster foray into the world of James Bond-esque spy shenanigans, has finally revealed its imminent Apple TV streaming release date. After failing to deliver at the box office earlier this year, the Matthew Vaughn movie now has a shot at redemption with its streaming debut, and is likely to be quite successful on the platform.
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.
Argylle stars Cavill alongside an ensemble cast that includes Bryce Dallas Howard, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O’Hara, Dua Lipa, Sam Rockwell, and John Cena among others. The fast-paced action-comedy failed to make back its reportedly huge $200 million budget during its theatrical run, with a worldwide gross of under $100 million. Now the film will be looking for big results when it hits Apple TV+ on April 12. Directed by Vaughn, Argylle offers up the filmmaker’s usual combination of espionage and humor, with the dual realities of Elly Conway (Howard), a reclusive spy novelist whose fictional world collides with genuine danger, and Agent Aubrey Argylle (Cavill), the film’s dashing protagonist.
However, even if the movie manages to pull in record viewership when it debuts next week, there is still the matter of the harsh reviews the film received from both audiences and critics alike, with many complaints over its excessive runtime, use of some questionable CGI, and its sometimes-incomprehensible plot. And for those who know, the movie’s payoff and sequel set-up did not do much to generate the kind of excitement Vaughn would have hoped for.
Argylle May Struggle to Play Out Michael Vaughn’s Big Franchise Plans
Vaughn’s vision for Argylle extends beyond a standalone project, with ambitions to develop it into a trilogy that explores the titular character’s backstory, as well as crossovers with both the director’s Kingman franchise and another unspecified series. Although this ambitious future for the franchise is a strong indication of Vaughn’s love of world-building, it is the type of plan that can only be executed if the financials are strong enough, and the audiences appear to want it. Argylle really struggled in both respects.
The initial trailers for the project gained a lot of attention for their ambiguity, promise of an intriguing tale, and, of course, Henry Cavill finally getting to play out his James Bond dreams. However, as soon as the first reviews arrived, it became clear that Vaughn’s plans may have been somewhat overambitious. Even the play of the film being “based on an unreleased book by an unpublished author” turned out of be a bit of a “meh” moment for many, when the intrigue gave way to the revelation that the author was not a Hollywood A-lister, but “just an author.”
Is Matthew Vaughn’s Argylle a Box Office Success?
The dismal box-office performance of Argylle suggests that Apple should consider foregoing theatrical releases for its future films.
Despite the complaints, Vaughn still seems hopeful of being able to continue expanding his little world of spies, with another Kingsman movie already in the works and, if he gets his wish, more to come from Argylle. For the latter, the future could very much depend on the film’s ability to pull in a strong streaming crowd, but after such a poor box office run, it could be that the chances of a sequel have already had their cover blown.
Argylle
will be available to stream on Apple TV+ from April 12.
