‘Argylle’ Tops Box Office With Puny $18 Million Debut

Argylle (Credit: Universal Pictures)

The star-studded Argylle opened in first place this weekend at the box office, but the film’s ticket sales were nothing to celebrate.

The spy spoof rang up an estimated $18.0 million from 3,605 theaters across North America, according to box office tracking company Comscore.

But that total was a huge disappointment considering the film’s reported $200 million production budget, plus marketing costs.

Matthew Vaughn (The King’s Man) directed the film from a script written by Jason Fuchs (Wonder Woman).

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The ensemble cast includes Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O’Hara, Dua Lipa, Ariana
DeBose, John Cena, and Samuel L. Jackson.

The plot centers on a reclusive author played by Bryce Dallas Howard, who writes espionage novels about a secret agent named Argylle. A global spy syndicate realizes the plot of her new book mirrors real-world events in real time, leading to twists and turns.

Critics found the story laughable and gave the movie low marks. It currently has a disappointing 35 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes out of 213 reviews. Critics described the film as “exhausting,” “lazy,” and “cartoonish.”

Moviegoers were equally unimpressed, giving the film a “C+” CinemaScore.

Universal released Argylle, which is an Apple original.

Elsewhere at the box office this weekend, faith-based TV series The Chosen season 4, episodes 1-3 opened in second place with $6 million.

Action thriller The Beekeeper was third with $5.2 million Friday through Sunday in its fourth week in theaters.

Wonka brought in another $4.7 million for a fourth place finish in its eighth week. Migration rounded out the top five with $4.1 million in its seventh week.

Year to date, the box office has brought in about $581 million through Sunday, that’s down 13 percent from this time in 2024, Comscore reported.


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About Anita Bennett

Anita Bennett is the editor and founder of Urban Hollywood 411. She can be reached on Twitter @tvanita.