Henry Cavill is all set to appear as a secret agent in Matthew Vaughn’s Argylle. The film, which also co-stars Sam Rockwell, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Dua Lipa, is said to be a very James Bond-esque thriller. It’s wonderful to see the star return to the industry after a while of being absent from any major project.
Meanwhile, one question fans have in their mind as to what’s the need of spending a huge amount of money for this movie. Universal Pictures is distributing Argylle, which was produced and financed by Apple for $200 million, per Variety.
Henry Cavill’s Argylle is Produced at a Hefty Budget
Argylle, directed by Matthew Vaughn, is definitely one of the most talked about films of 2024 so far, but the film also has some major factors that are against it. One of these is its massive budget.
Argylle was reportedly produced on a massive $200 million budget along with its marketing. It is Apple’s big attempt at a spy action thriller featuring a stellar cast. It is projected to open between $15-20 million, which is certainly a very soft opening considering its huge budget.
To become a box office successful, the movie will need to make around $300 million. However, Director Vaughn was quite diplomatic regarding the budget. In an interview with Deadline, the interviewer suggested to Vaughn that Argylle cost $200 million.
However, Vaughn was quick to shut down that estimate. The director told the interviewer,
“I don’t know how you spend $200 million on it. I actually don’t. Unless you’re going to make a five-hour CG fest.”
From his comment, it can be assumed that the budget was less than $200 million.
During his recent appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, director Vaughn admitted that his upcoming movie Argylle is very different from all the films he has directed so far.
“Most of my movies are always – I call them a love letter to the movies I loved as a kid or which I felt could be reinvented – We just came up with this, it is a very meta movie so it’s got lots of tropes that I’ve been guilty of making with spy movies which we’re sort of trying to reinvent.”
Still, considering a non-franchise film, the budget is still enormous. So, being an original property, it would be hard for the film to bring audiences to theaters.
Fans Talk about the Insane Budget
Whether the movie will become a box office hit or flop depends on the audience. But, what fans are talking about is its huge budget. Some think it’s not necessary for a movie like this, while some have already given the verdict as a flop.
Why spend so much money on movies like this one? 🙄
— Lucia Alley (@MariaSix3) January 31, 2024
Hollywood never learns how to control their budgets smh. Oppenheimer cost only $100 million and looked amazing while also having a huge stacked cast of A-list actors. Godzilla Minus One also looked amazing and was made for less than $15 million dollars.
— Tony Ilias (@youthfuleagle11) January 31, 2024
Yeah this is going to bomb hard. Looks like audiences are choosing to spend their money on movies that are more deserving to be seen on the big screen like Dune Part 2.
— Luke (@lame_luka) January 31, 2024
$200M budget? Jesus. pic.twitter.com/gKbEjH29qq
— Ryan Taplin (@meetmelnm0ntauk) January 31, 2024
The first major flop at the box office for 2024!
— House of Fire and Blood (@HouseofFireand2) January 31, 2024
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 tough competition to Argylle when two weeks after release.
Argylle is all set to release on February 2.
