The US$200 million investment "Argylle" faced a loss of both word-of-mouth and box office, making it the most disastrous failure since Apple entered theaters. "Argyle" earned US$5.6 million at the box office on Friday, and its first week box office was around US$16.5 million. Outside North America, it was not much better, with an estimated first week of US$16.9 million. The sum of the two items is not even a fraction of the cost - it has reached US$200 million excluding publicity and distribution.
The media commented that, first of all, Apple has deep pockets and would not have to worry about a single movie; secondly, Apple Films is an upstart in streaming media, and unlike traditional studios, it will not make harsh criticisms. If this happened to a traditional Hollywood studio, some people would pack their bags and leave.
Apple has bet on the release of three blockbusters in succession, each with a production cost of up to US$200 million. They are: Lao Ma's "Killers of the Flower Moon", Lao Lei's "Napoleon", and Matthew Vaughn's "Argyle". If you have not heard of Vaughn, think of "Kingsman", whose reputation has gradually declined.
The screenwriter of "Argyle" is Jason Fuchs, who wrote "Wonder Woman". The cast is star-studded. In addition to Bryce Dallas Howard, Henry Cavill, Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, there are also Samuel L. Jackson and Sister Pa. Even the cute cat in the film comes from world-class supermodel Claudia Schiffer:
Well, she is Vaughn's wife, and the director even contributed his own cat. Reasonable people point out that unless you go to the clinic to see a doctor, you should not take the cat out easily, which can easily cause stress. Moreover, it is not good to raise cats and they choose to have their ears folded. This shows that this family is not very smart.
"Argyle" received a very low CinemaScore C+ popularity score. The film is distributed by Universal Pictures and is currently exclusive to theaters. The online release date on the AppleTV+ platform is to be determined.