Although it was expected to be one of the “blockbusters” of early 2024, Henry Cavill’s spy movie “Argylle” became a “flop” at the box office.

 director Matthew Vaughn’s Argylle received high expectations from the audience. However, the 32% score from experts on the Rotten Tomatoes website has somewhat made viewers skeptical about the quality of the film .

With a budget of approximately $200 million , Argylle has so far only grossed $60 million  worldwide, making the film’s ability to break even seemingly zero.

So what made Argylle a “flop” at the box office, despite having a big star cast and a director with a solid hand in action movies?

Argylle is still not an easy ticket seller.

Although audiences often complain about Hollywood being flooded with sequels, they are quite hesitant when approaching new films. Argylle is coincidentally a very new film brand, not receiving much attention from the audience. Therefore, even though the film brings together many big names such as Henry Cavill , Dua Lipa , John Cena,… Argylle still finds it difficult to attract audiences to the theater with such a new film brand.

The score is not good.

Checking the scores of films before they hit theaters has become a habit for many audiences today. Argylle received low scores from professional critics, which unintentionally gave audiences a negative view of the film. Many critics said that although the film brought a fresh and interesting look to the spy genre, the film was still predictable and had a long-winded plot.

Argylle ‘s poor score on review site Rotten Tomatoes.

In addition, the CGI and action in the film are not taken care of. This makes Henry Cavill’s new film lose quite a few points in the eyes of the audience even though it has not officially been released yet.

Unique way to promote movies

For a new film, being promoted in a separate way seems like a good thing, but this did not happen with Argylle . Universal Studios constantly posted pictures of Henry Cavill and Dua Lipa on the media, causing the audience’s attention to the main plot to decrease. In fact, many viewers did not know that the main character of the film was writer Elly Conway, played by actress Bryce Dallas Howard, not Henry or Dua.

Actress Bryce Dallas Howard is the female lead of the film, not Dua Lipa.

Released at the wrong time

Although Argylle was released during the Lunar New Year, it was not a favorable time for the film. On the international front, January and February are considered a “slow” time at the cinema, when quality films do not choose this time to be released. Therefore, the audience’s fear of Argylle ‘s quality and choosing not to go to the cinema is also a reason.

Henry Cavill’s new film faces the obstacle of Vietnamese films like Mai and Gap Lai Chi Bau.

In the Vietnamese market, Argylle faces many competitors, which are domestic films. From Mai being given preferential screening times to Gap Lai Chi Bau which is suitable for the majority of audiences, Argylle finds it difficult to win the hearts of Vietnamese audiences.

The cost is too high.

One of the reasons why it is difficult for works to recover capital is the issue of budget. With a high budget like Argylle , up to 200 million USD (more than 4.9 trillion VND), this film from the beginning somewhat saw an uncertain future. The figure of 200 million USD is often considered for many big works of Disney or Marvel superhero movies, because these films already have a certain number of audiences.

With a brand new film like Argylle , Universal is making it difficult for themselves by making the film with such a high budget.