Argylle premiered at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London on January 24, 2024, before it was released by Universal Pictures and Apple Original Films in the United Kingdom on February 1, 2024, and in the United States the following day. The film received generally negative reviews from critics and has grossed $60 million worldwide.
Plot
Elly Conway, an introverted spy novelist, has almost finished her fifth book about Aubrey Argylle, the title character of the eponymous Argylle series. On a train journey to go and visit her parents, Ruth and Barry, Elly is saved from an ambush by an actual spy, Aidan Wylde, who explains to her that a devious organization, known as the Division, has targeted her because her novels seemingly predict their future. Aidan travels with Elly to England, hoping that her next chapter will reveal how to stop the Division.
In London, the duo searches for a "Masterkey"[a] that would help expose the Division that Elly had also referenced in her novels. Suspecting Aidan wants to kill her too, Elly calls her parents for help. As they arrive, Aidan reveals that they are operatives of the Division, forcing him and Elly to fend them off before fleeing. Escaping to France, Aidan and former CIA deputy director Alfie Solomon reveal that Argylle is not entirely fictional: Elly is in fact agent Rachel Kylle ("Argylle" seemingly having been derived from "R. Kylle"), who was captured and brainwashed by the Division five years ago and made to believe that Dr. Margaret Vogeler (Ruth) and Director Ritter (Barry) were her real parents; she put her suppressed memories into the novels, Aidan and Alfie respectively being one of her characters and her cat. With the latest Argylle novel, Elly was about to reveal the whereabouts of the Masterkey before her cover was blown.
Aidan and Rachel travel to Arabia, where they retrieve the Masterkey but are soon cornered by the Division, who knock them out and take them to their base. Ritter, the Division's director, reveals that Rachel was in actuality a double agent and one of their most loyal assets, after which she offers to interrogate Aidan, subsequently shooting him. She also locates Alfie for them, but reveals that she in fact sent him the Masterkey, betraying the Division. Ritter stops the transmission and she and a surviving Aidan fight their way through the ship, eventually killing him after Rachel's cat scratches out his eyes. Ruth uses a mental trigger code to turn her "daughter" on Aidan, until she is killed by Keira, a former CIA agent and Rachel and Aidan's sister-in-arms who was thought to have died in a mission with Rachel, which she had even put her in her novels, along with her seeming death. After this Alfie finally receives the message and Aidan detonates the Division's ocean liner headquarters.
Resuming her novelist persona, Rachel publishes her final novel in the Argylle series, where at a reading, the real Argylle reveals himself, much to her shock and confusion. In a mid-credits scene, a young Argylle is revealed to be a Kingsmanagent, with the first novel being based on his life.
Also appearing in the film are Rob Delaney as Deputy Director Powell, and Jing Lusi as a love interest of Argylle.[7][8]Richard E. Grant cameos as Fowler, the director of Argylle's spy organisation in the Argylle novels,[5] while Ben Daniels cameos as a bartender/spy at The King's Man Arms.[9]
Production
Development
Argylle was announced in June 2021, with Matthew Vaughn attached to direct and produce for Marv Studios.[10] The ensemble cast was announced in the following months, and it was reported that the script was written by Jason Fuchs.[3]Dua Lipa, who also stars in the film, provided original music for the title track and score.[11][12]
In August 2021, Apple TV+ bought the rights to the film for $200 million.[13] Some industry journals noted the $200 million as the production budget, with The Hollywood Reporter claiming some sources put costs as high as $250 million.[14][15][16] Director Matthew Vaughn refuted that claim, saying: "I don't know how you spend $200 million on it. I actually don't. Unless you're going to make a five-hour CG fest."[6]
Vaughn said the COVID-19 pandemic gave him the time to work on the film.[17] He describes it as his ode to 1980s action thrillers like Die Hard and Lethal Weapon. When asked about casting Cavill, he said: "I needed someone who was born to play Bond — which Henry is — and then nick him before Bond did. He plays a larger-than-life action hero with a wink. It's very different from Kingsman."[18]
Elly Conway, later revealed as the fictional author of the in-universe Argylle novels, was initially reported to have written the book that the script was based on during the film's announcement.[3] The claim was questioned by The Hollywood Reporter in September 2022, as they were unable to verify Conway's existence and their attempts to contact her, her publicist, and her talent agent were unsuccessful.[22] The trailer revealed Conway was the film's protagonist.[4] Several social media users attempted to identify Conway and theorized that singer-songwriter Taylor Swift had written the book with Conway as her pen name, based on several references associating Swift with Argylle; Vaughn denied the theory, stating Conway is not related to Swift, though Swift influenced the use of a Scottish Fold cat in the film.[23][24][25]Bryce Dallas Howard, who plays Conway in the film, opined that Argylle is "unconsciously inspired" by Swift.[26] In February 2024, authors Terry Hayes and Tammy Cohen revealed they had written the tie-in novel.[27] The tie-in book was released ahead of the movie's release, on January 9, 2024.[28]
Apple and Universal spent $80 million promoting the film, each being responsible for fronting 50% of the costs.[29]
In June 2023, it was announced that the film would be released in theaters on February 2, 2024, by Universal Pictures and Apple Original Films, before releasing on Apple TV+ at an undetermined date.[31][32] The film's marketing campaign cost $80 million, of which Universal paid half. According to Deadline Hollywood, Universal "collects back what it's owed in marketing from the box office before it collects a distribution fee."[29]
Reception
Box office
As of February 11, 2024[update], Argylle has grossed $28.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $31.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $59.7 million.[2]Variety noted that for a traditional studio release, the film would need to gross around $500 million worldwide in order to break even.[15]
In the United States and Canada, Argylle was projected to gross $15–20 million from 3,605 theaters in its opening weekend.[14] The film made $6.4 million on its first day, including $1.7 million from Thursday night previews.[33] It went on to debut to $17.5 million, topping the box office, though The Hollywood Reporter noted that "if legacy Hollywood studios released a $200 million movie with results like these, they would be skewered."[29][16] In its second weekend the film dropped 63% to $6.5 million, remaining in first.[34]
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 32% of 258 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "Argylle gets some mileage out of its silly, energetic spin on the spy thriller, but ultimately wears out its welcome with a convoluted plot and overlong runtime."[35]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 35 out of 100, based on 57 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[36] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled by PostTrak gave it an 3 out of 5 stars.[29]
Forbes noted that, in general, reviews criticized the film's length, number of plot twists, and use of CGI in action sequences, labeling it a parody of the genre.[37]Screen Rant summarized the reviews as mixed, noting the polarized reception of the "meta" elements, while the cast received praise.[38]Peter BradshawofThe Guardian gave the film one star out of five and called it an "unbearably self-satisfied smirk of a spy caper from Matthew Vaughn";[39] various other reviews were also very negative.[40]CBC conceded that the "movie's meta-backstory is much more interesting than its actual storyline, by a lot",[41] while the Los Angeles Times, also quite critical of the film, mentioned its "amusing premise" and enjoyed Rockwell's presence.[42]
Future
Sequels
In July 2021, it was announced that Argylle was intended to be first of a franchise of at least three films.[3] In March 2022, it was confirmed that the first film will be followed by two sequels to complete a film trilogy.[43] In October 2023, Vaughn confirmed plans to create additional movies, while stating that the second film would be a prequel, as "the first Argylle novel",[44] exploring the origins of Argylle becoming a spy; while the third movie would follow additional installments.[45] On the film's release, its mid-credits scene, after displaying a younger Argylle (portrayed by Louis Partridge) being recruited by Kingsman, displays a note onscreen stating that "'Argylle: Book One - The Movie' is coming soon".[46] In February 2024, Vaughn confirmed that the prequel installment is being developed with Louis Partridge in the staring role; while explaining that the actor will star as the real Argylle (as portrayed by Cavill) from the end of the first movie, in his formative years.[47]
Shared universe
In October 2023, Matthew Vaughn announced his plans to create a larger spy-themed universe through his Marv Studios, with that universe being interconnected and comprising the Kingsman franchise, the Argylle films, and an unnamed third franchise. His intention was to have the new upcoming films in each series culminate in a crossover in the future.[44]
Notes
^The device is known as the "Masterkey" or the "Masterfile" in different versions of the film. This article uses "Masterkey".
References
^"Argylle (12A)". BBFC. January 12, 2024. Archived from the original on January 12, 2024. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
United States
United Kingdom
Comedy
