Henry Cavill is all set to star in Matthew Vaughn’s upcoming spy comedy Argylle. The actor plays the titular spy, Argylle, in the film, a fictional character written by Bryce Dallas Howard’s fiction writer Elle Conway. Conway is pursued by a secret organization whose activities the writer seems to have predicted in her books.
Apart from Cavill, the film stars Sam Rockwell, Dua Lipa, John Cena, Bryan Cranston, and Samuel L. Jackson. Despite the loaded star cast, the film seems to have less than stellar projections, with Deadline reporting that the film will be seeing $20 million and above opening. These low numbers united haters of Henry Cavill into trolling him online.
Henry Cavill’s Argylle Gets Decent Box Office Projections
Henry Cavill’s first role since his exit from the DCU and The Witcher will be in Matthew Vaughn’s spy comedy Argylle. The film sees him play the role of a super-spy, much like James Bond, who is a figment of writer Elle Conway’s imagination. The film is an original that is set to be turned into a franchise much like Vaughn’s Kingsman franchise.
However, Deadline reported that the film might make more than $20 million when it opens on February 2. The studio behind the film is reportedly comparing Argylle’s release with that of the Channing Tatum and Sandra Bullock starrer Lost City and Vaughn’s Kingsmen films, giving it a projection of more than $35 million. However, the entertainment portal compared the release to that of Jessica Chastain’s The 355, giving it a projection of $20 million.
Since the film is an original and not a film based on an existing IP or a sequel of an established franchise, the portal opined that the film might have a slow beginning, with positive word-of-mouth increasing ticket sales. Henry Cavill’s Argylle opens two weeks before Valentine’s Day weekend, which sees Madame Web and One Love: Bob Marley releasing. These films might give stiff competition to Argylle when two weeks after release.
The portal also opined that the film’s release came at a time when the box office was slow and would only pick up with the year’s first big release, Dune: Part Two. The Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya starrer opens on March 1st and is a sequel to 2021’s Dune, based on the legendary novels of Frank Herbert.
Argyle’s Box Office Projections Draw Hate For Henry Cavill Online
Though Henry Cavill has a worldwide fanbase due to his role as Superman in Zack Snyder’s DCEU and his role as Geralt of Rivia in Netflix’s Witcher, he has yet to give a solid box office blockbuster. Henry Cavill’s last film which was released in theaters, was his cameo in Black Adam, was a box office bomb, and so was Night Hunter. His Enola Holmes series were direct Netflix releases and so were Zack Snyder’s Justice League and Sand Castles.
Henry Cavill gave box office successes only in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Mission Impossible: Fallout. But, both the films were legacy sequels starring other stars such as Ben Affleck as Batman in the former, and Tom Cruise in the latter. Cavill’s previous spy venture The Man from U.N.C.L.E. was a box office bomb, earning only $110 million against a $70 million budget. The original Justice League too failed to break even at the box office.
Due to his tarnished legacy at the box office and the less than stellar box office projections for Argylle, Henry Cavill has been garnering much hate online, with many trolls calling him a ‘flop actor’. While the actor has his own supporters, Argylle could seemingly decide how much Henry Cavill can actually pull off at the box office.
Henry Cavill=flop actor
— késhýä saw #AquamanAndTheLostKingdom 🔱🌊 (@keshyazatara) January 31, 2024
Cavill flop stay flopping. 💩💩💩😂😂😂
— Anono Caution (@arvin_mangohig) January 31, 2024
Wofff, Henry cavil sweating
— Mahir Rahman (@Mranan38Mahir) January 31, 2024
This is a projection of a minimum ($20M+), notice the plus sign. Let’s just see the confirmed numbers come next Monday
— Jay (@JasonSmith_SO) January 31, 2024
They are marketing the crap out of this film, so this number isn't really that good. It might get some heavy lifting overseas, but the only way this thing turns a profit is if word of mouth is really good.
— Jacob 🍜 (@jsrrayburn) January 31, 2024
While his flops have never deterred the actor from gaining roles, a good box office run for Argylle could do wonders for the actor and the film, which is touted to be the first in a franchise of films starring Argylle in upcoming films by Matthew Vaughn.
