Henry Cavill’s biggest flop of the year surprised director Matthew Vaughn in ways he did not expect. The filmmaker, who also helmed the successful Kingsman franchise, thought the 2024 spy thriller film would be a nice feel-good show for everyone, but what happened was the complete opposite.
Argylle was peppered with harsh criticism from fans and reviewers. Over the past years, there has been an oversaturation of espionage-themed movies in the market, but the root cause of its failure was the early negative reviews that discouraged fans from giving it a chance.
Matthew Vaughn Addressed The Failure Of Argylle
During an interview with Empire, director Matthew Vaughn confessed he initially had a great feeling about Argylle.
We had done test screenings that had gone fantastically well. The premiere was a really fun night, and it was like going back to the ‘Snatch’ days where there was such excitement. And I started drinking the Kool-Aid. It’s a fun, feel-good movie.
Soon after, when the reviews came out, he was shocked to the core when he read the harsh criticism of the film. He could not believe people were actually offended by Henry Cavill’s movie, let alone a story he thought was just for fun.
We didn’t make ‘Citizen Kane,’ but f—king hell, then the reviews came out and I’m like, ‘Wait, what have I done to offend these people?’ They were vitriolic. I’m not saying the movie’s perfect by any means, but I didn’t think it was offensive.
He admitted it took him by surprise, and it did rattle him. “I’m genuinely scratching my head about that because you can’t ignore it,” pointing out the bad reviews.
Argylle ended up as one of the biggest flops of the year, only earning around $96 million against a budget of $200 million, as per Box Office Mojo. Its Rotten Tomatoes score currently sits at 33%, proving how much it failed to woo fans of both Cavill and the spy action genre.
Argylle Found Success On Streaming Platforms
In the same conversation with Empire, the filmmaker revealed Argylle is doing well on streaming. The film sort of found success on the small screen, so this might give the franchise another shot.
People are liking it. Nothing would make me happier than making another one. I’m getting texts saying, ‘Wow, those reviews were fucking harsh!’
The more people watch Argylle on television, the more chances Vaughn and his team will have in order to helm a sequel. In fact, he shared, “I’d love to make another one, we’ve got it planned.”
It remains a mystery what plans the director has for the potential next installment, and it’s not certain whether Cavill would return given how badly it tainted his reputation.
The actor worked on the film after he left Netflix’s The Witcher, and recently he also appeared in another spy action film entitled The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.
Argylle is now streaming on Apple TV+.
