Following his exit from two major franchises namely DC and The Witcher series, Henry Cavill has seen a bit of a lean period in Hollywood. To add to his woes, his spy thriller Argylle also sank without a trace at the box office. Cavill’s bad fortune in this genre started in 2015 when his film The Man from U.N.C.L.E was also panned.
While these films in question also did not fare well in the CinemaScore test, the Superman actor is finally making amends now with Guy Ritchie’s latest spy flick, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. Not only was the movie being praised during its New York premiere, but it is also making the grades with an impressive CinemaScore rating after its preview.
Henry Cavill’s Latest Film Is Impressing With Its Rating
Henry Cavill’s latest appearance in Guy Richie’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is earning him high praise. The narrative based on the book Churchill’s Secret Warriors: The Explosive True Story of the Special Forces Desperadoes of WWII by Damien Lewis, presents a fictionalized version of Operation Postmaster, a British special operation conducted on the Spanish island of Fernando Po during the 2nd World War.
The spy thriller which has the quintessential Guy Ritchie stamp, opened to great reviews during its preview before its official release on April 19th, 2024. The biggest validation for the film though, has come through its impressive CinemaScore rating of A- from preview audiences.
Guy Ritchie’s ‘THE MINISTRY OF UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE’ receives an A- CinemaScore from preview audiences.
Read our review: https://t.co/daJeZlLEV1 pic.twitter.com/H8M3Ai892l
— The Hollywood Handle (@HollywoodHandle) April 17, 2024
The significance of this grade lies in the fact that the DC alum has not had great luck in the spy genre. In 2015, he starred in The Man From U.N.C.L.E also directed by Ritchie which flopped at the box office. Similarly, in 2024, his James Bond-esque flick Argylle did nothing positive for his reputation.
Both these films also did not make the grade when it came to CinemaScore ratings. While The Man from U.N.C.L.E received a rating of B from audiences (via Wikipedia), Argylle suffered a worse fate with a C+ score (via Deadline). In comparison, Cavill’s latest film has improved this record by leaps and bounds.
In 2013, Cavill’s debut appearance as Superman in Man of Steel directed by Zack Snyder also earned the film an A- rating (via Comic Book) on CinemaScore. The actor has now repeated this feat in movies with The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.
Henry Cavill Thought His Superman Audition Was A Failure
Looking back at Henry Cavill’s iconic gig as Superman, it is difficult to imagine anyone other than the British star playing DC’s most celebrated superhero. While audiences and critics also claimed that he was the perfect choice for the role, the actor himself had trepidations about his chances to portray the iconic character.
Cavill’s doubts arose from the fact that the weight he had lost to star in Bruce Willis’s The Cold Light of Day prior to the Superman audition, did not coordinate with the desired physique that the superhero required. Speaking of his fear after seeing himself for the first time in the iconic suit, the actor confessed to EW,
“All I could think was: ‘Oh, god. They’re going to look at me and go ‘He’s not Superman. Not a chance.’ The actor inside me was going: ‘You’re not ready! You’re not ready.”
Cavill ultimately got the part thanks to Zack Snyder who saw the spark of Superman in him. But the charismatic star still maintains that he cringes at his first audition of himself in the iconic suit stating that he looked like ‘s**t’. Despite his trepidations, the Argylle actor proved himself wrong and audiences right.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare will be released in theaters on April 19th, 2024.
