“Argylle” centers on reclusive author Elly Conway who is behind a series of best-selling espionage novels. But when the plots of Elly’s fictional books — which focus on a secret agent named Argylle — begin to mirror a real-life spy organization, she is unwittingly thrust into the action alongside her cat. Accompanied by a cat-allergic spy named Aiden, they race across the world to stay one step ahead of the killers. The cast is led by Bryce Dallas Howard (“Jurassic World”) and Sam Rockwell (“Jojo Rabbit”). But they are just part of an A-list ensemble that also includes Henry Cavill (“Man of Steel”), John Cena (“Fast X”), Ariana DeBose (“West Side Story”), Dua Lipa (“Barbie”), Bryan Cranston (“Breaking Bad”), and Samuel L. Jackson (“The Avengers”).
That cast works in the film’s favor, to be certain. Whether or not they will help put actual meat in seats is another question entirely. What this movie is going to live or die by is word of mouth. It may not do gangbusters business on opening weekend, but if audiences dig it, viewers could keep turning up week-to-week. That would be ideal. Though Vaughn’s films do sort of have a ceiling. The filmmaker’s previous efforts include “Kingsman: The Secret Service” ($36 million opening/$405 million worldwide) and “X-Men: First Class” ($55 million opening/$355 million worldwide).
Fortunately, Apple doesn’t need this movie to profit in theaters. Yes, they invested a reported $200 million in the project. That said, this is ultimately a streaming play for the tech company. They just know that they can recoup a percentage of that investment with a theatrical release while bringing more attention to the eventual streaming release. In the meantime, it’s a movie theaters need badly. It would be nice if this ends up being one of those examples of a film over performing against modest expectations, but that might just be wishful thinking. We’ll see how it shakes out.
“Argylle” hits theaters on February 2, 2024.