Why Argylle Bombed At The Box Office

After months of anticipation (and ridicule), Matthew Vaughn's star-studded spy flick "Argylle" has finally graced cinemas — and it's dead on arrival, emerging as the first major box office bomb of 2024. With hits like "Kick-Ass" and "X-Men: First Class" under his belt, Vaughn cemented himself as one of Hollywood's most interesting talents. With the release of 2014's "Kingsman: The Secret Service," Vaughn had a breakthrough spy hit, with the goofy, young "James Bond"-esque story grossing over $400 million worldwide. Vaughn's streak of good luck ended there, as his two "Kingsman" sequels received mixed-to-negative reviews, with "The King's Man" barely grossing over $121 million worldwide. 

Vaughn obviously isn't done with spies, as the British filmmaker has just debuted "Argylle," a film about an author (Bryce Dallas Howard) whose spy novels seem to mysteriously predict the future of international espionage. Initially, the pic drew excitement thanks to its ensemble cast which consists of Henry Cavill, John Cena, Dua Lipa, and more, but the film's opening weekend does not open the door for optimism. On a budget reportedly north of $200 million, the film only drew in $18 million domestically during its debut weekend. Despite emerging as the number one film at the box office stateside, that meager opening weekend number spells disaster for "Argylle." 

The movie will likely fail to recoup its monstrous budget and its disastrous opening isn't surprising to those who have kept up with the narrative surrounding the picture. Thanks to mediocre reviews, poor (and oversaturated) marketing, a bloated budget, and a changing theatrical landscape, "Argylle" was never going to be the breakthrough hit that Apple Original Films and Vaughn wanted it to be. 

"Argylle" is nothing short of a career-worst showing for Matthew Vaughn, a creative maverick who generated plenty of goodwill in the 2010s. Across the board, it was maligned by critics, with Looper reviewer Dominic Griffin awarding the picture a 4/10. Griffin was particularly disappointed with the film's two-hour-plus runtime and couldn't stand the frequency of plot twists, which resulted in a final product that left them exhausted. "At its core, 'Argylle; is little more than one semi-decent twist idea stacked upon a foundation that is just a faulty Jenga tower of other less-decent twist ideas, with almost nothing of substance, emotional or otherwise, to make the viewer care through any of it," they wrote. 

Over on Rotten Tomatoes, the film boasts a 35% critics score — that's the lowest score Vaughn has received as a director. Audiences weren't particularly kind to the spy escapade as well, with opening night viewers giving the flick a C+ CinemaScore. That's nothing short of a disaster for a film that was riding on the goodwill of its large, star-studded ensemble cast. However, fans on Rotten Tomatoes tell a different story, as the verified audience score rests at a decent 70%. 

Word of mouth for the picture is mixed-to-positive, and it's certain that many ignored the film because of the poor reviews, which have dominated the internet over the last week. As ticket prices increase and audiences become more cautious of how they spend their time at the multiplex, word-of-mouth is crucial in making or breaking a film. There's a reason why the beloved "Wonka" and "Migration" are still in the domestic top five after their eighth and seventh weeks, respectively.

For business and marketing majors, the promotional strategy for "Argylle" will make for an impressive case study one day. The movie's first trailer hit the internet in late September 2023, four months before the film's official debut. That's fine — "Argylle" is a big-budget, original flick with a motley crew of superstars that needed to be front-and-center for audiences to care about. But the issue lies in how over-exposed that initial bit of marketing was. That trailer, which quickly became the internet's favorite meme for a minute, was everywhere. Anytime audiences went to cinemas, they were inundated with the same trailer for months on end, leading to a rather exhausting marketing cycle.

The most popular comment on the r/movies subreddit discussing the film is by u/jayeddy99, who writes, "The trailers are finally over." And we're not sure if u/1991mgs is joking, but they claimed that the trailer for "Argylle" played while they were seated for "Argylle." It doesn't even matter if they're being honest or not, as their comment is indicative of the narrative surrounding the film, which impacted its box office. If audiences are pleading that a film finally be released so that they're no longer subjected to its trailer, it's a sign that your marketing isn't as exciting as you think it is. 

With the trailer being so pronounced over the months, audiences began to nitpick the picture excessively, with many clowning the use of the CGI cat and making jokes about "who the real Agent Argylle" is. What's interesting is that Apple and distributor Universal Pictures only released one trailer for the film, a rare occurrence for a blockbuster which typically has two-to-three trailers to generate interest. Did they think "Argylle" wasn't worth marketing beyond its initial trailer?

Based on its mediocre $18 million opening weekend, it's fair to say "Argylle" just doesn't have the momentum needed to cross its reported $200 million-plus budget. Numbers vary across several different sources, but the consensus seems to suggest that $200 million is the minimum budget for the star-studded affair. There might be some truth to that number, as Deadline says Apple bought the rights for the pic for $200 million back in 2021. Over the last few years, several films have failed thanks in part to their bloated budgets, which put considerable expectations on films to overperform. 

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the box office hasn't fully rebounded, and the industry hasn't hit the same highs it boasted in 2018. The numbers show that audiences aren't showing up to cinemas as much as they used to, which means production budgets need to be managed to reign in expectations. On paper, it's a great idea for Apple to pay $200 million for a flick that features heavyweights like John Cena, Samuel L. Jackson, Henry Cavill, and pop sensation Dua Lipa — but none of these stars are actual box office draws. In an era where star power is only reserved for the likes of Denzel Washington, Julia Roberts, and Tom Cruise, it's difficult to see where the money was spent, especially when one considers the film's poor use of CGI. 

Despite the reported $200 million price tag, which has consistently been maintained by trades, Matthew Vaughn has contested that number, telling Deadline that the pic didn't cost that much. "I don't know how you spend $200 million on it," he told the outlet. "I actually don't. Unless you're going to make a five-hour CG fest." 

On paper, "Argylle" was the perfect blockbuster to kick off February 2024. Its release date was optimal, as it had the entire month for itself, save for Sony Pictures' "Madame Web," which likely won't be a slam dunk. With no competition, the film could have genuinely soared and may have easily grossed $350 to $400 million, rivaling the run of the first "Kingsman." And thanks to its solid cast, "Argylle" had the ability to draw in multiple fandoms. Even its exhausting, repetitive marketing would have been nothing more than a footnote ... if the film was actually good. Ultimately, audiences rejected this picture primarily because of the abysmal reviews it received. 

Seeing your favorite stars on screen doesn't have the same appeal as it used to. This weekend, viewers were indifferent towards "Argylle" because the overall product was lackluster, compelling them to stay home and watch the latest releases on streaming services. Audiences are far more cautious these days — just take a look at some of the biggest bombs from 2023, most of them failed because of mixed-to-negative reception. 

If word-of-mouth was good, "Argylle" could have blown up and become a smashing success for Apple, who was hoping to turn the spy flick into a franchise. Unfortunately, it seems unlikely that the pic will gross more than $200 million. Next weekend won't be too exciting for the film either — it has to deal with Super Bowl Sunday. Expect a $10-$12 million showing next weekend and a paltry international haul, as the film only made $17 million this weekend abroad. 

Audiences don't care enough to know who the real Agent Argylle is, and it seems like they never will, as Matthew Vaughn's latest is just the latest troubled studio flick to grace multiplexes.