Summary
- Henry Cavill’s recent spy thriller, Argylle, has been a critical and financial disaster, adding to a trend of underperforming spy movies in the actor’s career.
- Mission: Impossible – Fallout was a successful exception where Cavill had a supporting role, suggesting that his leading spy movies struggle.
- Cavill’s upcoming projects, such as The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare and Highlander, offer a chance to reverse the spy movie missteps and continue his success in fantasy-inspired franchises.
Warning: Contains potential SPOILERS for ArgylleHenry Cavill’s recent collaboration with Matthew Vaughan in the comedic spy thriller Argylle has been both a critical and financial catastrophe, yet its disappointing returns also continue a surprising trend in the actor’s career. As one of the biggest Hollywood stars on the planet, Henry Cavill has enjoyed huge cinematic success. His performances as Superman in the DCEU, for instance, were not only financially lucrative but also received general fan acclaim (despite the varying quality of the films themselves). Despite these blockbuster achievements, however, Argylle proves that there is one genre Cavill is yet to crack.
As is typical of director Vaughan, Argylle is an irreverent riff on classic spy movies. Cavill stars as the titular spy, who turns out to be a fictional character featured in a series of novels by writer Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas-Howard). As the movie’s many-layered plot unfurls, Conway becomes embroiled in a real-world story of espionage thanks to her books’ apparent ability to predict the future. The movie’s meta plot has failed to convince critics or audiences – scoring 35% on Rotten Tomatoes and failing to make back its reported $200 million budget. In so doing, Argylle has also confirmed a major and surprising problem with Cavill’s wider career.
Argylle Ending & Every Twist Explained
Argylle has multiple twists and an ending that connects to a recent spy franchise. We break down the film’s biggest surprises, what’s next, and more.
Henry Cavill Starring In Spy Movies Isn’t Working At The Box Office
Disappointingly for the 40-year-old English actor, Argylle continues a trend of Henry Cavill spy movies underperforming at the box office. Like previous projects The Cold Light of Day and The Man From U.N.C.L.E, Argylle looks set to be a major box office bomb, having made just over $35 million at the time of writing against its budget. Despite his box office credentials as a result of huge success stories like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Man of Steel, Cavill has proved surprisingly incompatible with the spy genre.
|
Budget |
Box Office |
Rotten Tomatoes Score |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
The Cold Light of Day |
$20 million |
$25.4 million |
4% |
|
The Man From U.N.C.L.E |
$75 million |
$110 million |
68% |
|
Argylle |
$200 million |
$35.8 million* |
35% |
The one notable exception to this aspect of Cavill’s career is Mission: Impossible – Fallout. The 2018 thriller was a runaway financial and critical success, with Cavill’s performance as villain August Walker/John Lark singled out as a highlight. However, unlike his other forays, Cavill was restricted to an antagonistic supporting role in the Mission: Impossible sequel, with Tom Cruise taking the lead. When Cavill takes center stage in his own spy movies, the evidence suggests that the films struggle.
An Upcoming 2024 Movie Can Break Henry Cavill’s Spy Movie Trend
Such a pronounced trend might make it seem as though Cavill’s spy movie career is doomed to failure. However, there is a chance that another of the actor’s 2024 releases can help reverse the pattern. Guy Ritchie’s upcoming project The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is an ostensibly true story based on the British Special Operations Executive founded in World Ward Two and will star Cavill as Gus March-Phillips – a real officer who was instrumental in the creation of Britain’s legendary SAS division.
Like Argylle, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare promises to be a raucous and humorous entry into the genre. However, the combination of Guy Ritchie, who has enjoyed great previous commercial success, and the true story element may help make the movie a more intriguing prospect for potential viewers. Although Argylle has got Cavill’s 2024 off to a disappointing start, the actor’s next spy movie may yet provide a course correction.
Argylle’s Post-Credits Scene Twist Explained & What It Sets Up
Argylle includes a post-credits scene that delivers one more twist to the spy franchise. Here is what it sets up for the future and what comes next.
Henry Cavill’s Next Franchises Remove Him From The Spy Movie Genre
While The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare may yet reverse Cavill’s disappointing spy movie career trend, his next major franchise projects will still offer him some respite – even if the upcoming film also flops. Continuing a more positive career trajectory, following Cavill’s huge success in the Witcher series for Netflix, the actor’s upcoming franchises are both more fantastical rather than espionage-focused. Not only is he slated to appear in the proposed Highlander reboot, but the actor will also lead Amazon’s upcoming Warhammer 40,000 series. Fortunately, each is a long way removed from spy movies.
Although both projects are in their infancy, they promise to be a real chance for Cavill to correct his spy movie missteps. Highlander is a beloved preexisting franchise that seems perfectly suited to the actor’s talents, while Warhammer is a personal passion project for Cavill based on his own love for the original modeling hobby. Given that Cavill has enjoyed some of his greatest successes in fantasy-inspired franchises like the DCEU and The Witcher, both Warhammer and Highlander can help fix the damage done by Argylle.
