Argyllethe spy action comedy starring Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard and Sam Rockwell that flopped upon theatrical release has reached an Apple TV Plus launch date.
The joint Apple-Universal film, which was only released in theaters in early February, will join the streamer’s back catalog on Friday, April 12. That’s right, Argylle will be released in just one week on one of the world’s top streaming services (at the time of publication, anyway). The confirmation comes via a message on Apple TV Plus’s X/Twitter account, which you can view below:
Never judge an author by its cover. Argylle is coming to Apple TV+ in a week. pic.twitter.com/9rnZ1UZ324April 5, 2024
For the uninitiated: Argylle tells the story of Elly Conway (Howard), the esteemed and award-winning author of the spy book series starring the titular character Aubrey Argylle. He is played by Cavill (The witcher, Superman) in metatextual, live-action scenes – based on Conway’s work – found throughout the film.
Away from the public eye, Conway keeps to herself, choosing to eschew glamorous parties for quieter days at home with her cat Alfie. However, Conway’s life is turned upside down when the events in her literary works surprisingly take place in real life. When a nefarious criminal organization known as The Division targets her because her novels seemingly predict the future, Conway is forced to team up with a real-life spy – Aidan Wylde (Rockwell) – to put an end to the The Division’s plans for world domination.
I see another disappointing Apple movie
Ahead of its release on February 2, I suggested that Argylle would be one of the 18 epic films that audiences wouldn’t want to miss in 2024. Based on the various trailers and TV spots that Apple/Universal released ahead of its theatrical debut, teasing a spy movie that would subvert our expectations, it seemed Argylle would be a surefire hit.
However, that turned out not to be the case. One of 2024’s first new films was critically panned before its release, with journalists calling it “bloated,” “confusing,” “messy,” “too long,” “breezy,” and “boring,” among many other negative adjectives . Are Rotten tomatoes (RT) rating subsequently left much to be desired, with the Matthew Vaughn-directed film achieving an abysmal 33% score before release.
Argylle did much better with the general public – its RT score of 72% proved that as much – but it was both a commercial and critical flop. According to Box Office MojoWorldwide, it earned a paltry $92.2 million, which is less than half of its reported $200 million budget. That figure also doesn’t take into account marketing/promotional costs Argylle was as big a failure as I can remember for an Apple Studios developed project. Bottom line: Don’t expect to see it on our list of the best Apple TV Plus movies anytime soon.
From a filmmaking perspective, I can’t remember a more turbulent time for the tech giant’s entertainment division. Only two of the six recent films that Apple has independently or co-financed – Killers of the Flower Moon (93% and 84%) and Flora & Son (93% and 83%) – have been praised by fans and critics alike. Napoleon (58% and 59%), The Family Plan (25% and 61%), and Fingernails (60% and 47%) all received mixed to poor reception, as did Argylle used to be. If Apple felt like it was finally making inroads into the movie business after that CODAAfter the shock of the 2022 Best Picture Oscar, the world-famous company may want to rethink its filmmaking strategy.