Matthew Vaughnhas broken his silence on the critical and commercial failures of his movie,Argylle. Featuring a star-studded cast, including Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, Samuel L. Jackson, and Bryan Cranston, and a plot with more twists than a French plait, the movie seemed destined for big things when it released its original trailers. However, on release it failed to make an impact on the box office, andcritics slammed the film in brutal fashion.
AlthoughArgylle performed well on its streaming debut on Apple TV+,the film cannot get away from its position as the first big flop of 2024, and that is something Vaughn really did not see coming. Candidly opening up on the subject toEmpire Magazine, the director shared his thoughts on the harsh criticism the movie received. He said:
“Fck yeah. My guard came down on Argylle . We had done test screenings that had gone fantastically well. The premiere was a really fun night, and it was like going back to the Snatch days where there was such excitement. And I started drinking the Kool-Aid. It’s a fun, feel-good movie, or I thought it was a fun, feel-good movie. We didn’t make Citizen Kane , but fcking hell, then the reviews came out and I’m like, ‘Wait, what have I done to offend these people?’ They were vitriolic.”
I’m not saying the movie’s perfect by any means, but I didn’t think it was offensive.
“That took me by surprise. I even went round to cinemas because I thought, ‘Maybe I’ve lost the plot now.’ It did rattle me. I’m genuinely scratching my head about that, because you can’t ignore it. It wasn’t like [just] a few bad reviews. It is what it is. You learn from these things.”
Argylle Was Meant to Start a Franchise
The most disappointing thing aboutArgylle’sfailure was the potential the movie had to expand into a much bigger franchise. While there were rumors of the film havinglinks to Vaughn’sKingsmanfranchisefrom the start, he had some grand plans for both sequels and prequels to the story of Henry Cavill’s fictional spy.
While getting past bad reviews is one thing,Argylle’spoor box office gross of just $96.1 million worldwide against an estimated $200 million budget, makes it hard to see any kind of sequel getting the green light. However, Vaughn clearly has not given up hope of seeing that happen. Asked about the potential continuation of the franchise, he said:
“We’re doing very well on streaming. People are liking it. Nothing would make me happier than making another one. I’m getting texts saying, ‘Wow, those reviews were f-cking harsh!’ The more we can get people to watch Argylle, the more chance we make another one. I’d love to make another one, we’ve got it planned.”
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While the future ofArgyllehangs in the balance, Vaughn is currently working on the fourth and final movie in hisKingsmanfranchise. TitledKingsman: The Blue Blood, the film is expected to conclude the Colin Firth and Taron Egerton-led spy thriller series, but currently has no release date.
Argyllecan be streamed on Apple TV+.
