Argylle dropped onto Apple TV+ on April 12th, concluding a brutal box office run. Matthew Vaughn’s 2024 flop is the most-watched film on the streaming service. That should come as no surprise because several massive stars decorate the poster. The shocking element of Argylle‘s cultural reputation is its initial failure. It stands as a reminder that a star-studded cast, respected director, decent premise, and expensive marketing campaign can’t always outrun terrible word-of-mouth. Argylle achieved its best-case scenario—shame about the theatrical run.
Agent Argylle Finds the Truth on Apple TV
I started following Argylle‘s box-office performance shortly after I saw it in an empty screening room. I heard the endless buzz surrounding the bizarre marketing campaign, but that intrigue failed to translate to ticket sales. It’s worth breaking down the numbers. Argylle cost $200 million to make. The conventional metrics suggest doubling the production budget to account for marketing. Instead, Apple entered a co-branding deal with Universal Studios. Universal paid $40 million of Argylle‘s $80 million marketing budget, stipulating that Apple would pay back that investment before earning a dime. Universal also wrangled an 8% distribution fee. Argylle made $96.2 million before it dropped onto Apple TV. It lost $40 million to Universal. With its distribution deal, Argylle probably earned Apple around $51.7 million. Variety suggested its typical break-even point might be upwards of $500 million. This is a catastrophic outcome.
Argylle rocketed to the top of Apple TV as soon as Henry Cavill’s silly haircut reached the service. Its box-office performance partially emerged from one of modern memory’s worst marketing campaigns. It started in 2022 when Apple announced the film’s director, Matthew Vaughn, and fictional writer, Elly Conway. Conway is Bryce Dallas Howard’s character in the movie. This concept makes no sense, prompting The Hollywood Reporter to investigate. A tie-in novel, also credited to Conway, dropped before the film. English novelists Terry Hayes and Tammy Cohen ghostwrote the book while Jason Fuchs wrote the film. The shifty approach led many to assume a big name crafted the manuscripts. Taylor Swift became the ideal guess, but others believed J. K. Rowling tried to sneak in under a pseudonym. While neither worked out, they tested the old “any publicity is good publicity” adage.
Argylle is dominating Apple TV, as any Henry Cavill blockbuster naturally would. It exemplifies the consistent trend of theatrical flops finding audiences where they live. Flixpatrol reports streaming performance metrics from all over the world. Many top-ten winners reach their positions through viewers from individual continents or regions. Latin America often forces films to Netflix’s top ten. Argylle has one of the most universal rankings I’ve ever seen. From Australia to Antigua and from the US to the UAE, Argylle owns Apple. Millions around the world waited for this film to drop where it belongs. If there’s any lesson beyond not inventing fake screenwriters, it may be the necessity of studios knowing what they have.
