Henry Cavill’s Failed Action Franchise-Starter Makes a Surprise Comeback on Apple TV
A lot is on the line for Henry Cavill, who must prove his worth as a leading man after a string of box-office underperformers over the last few years. Cavill will next star in Guy Ritchie‘s In the Grey, but the true litmus test will come later, when his Highlander reboot hits the screens. The movie is being directed by Chad Stahelski, marking his first project outside the John Wick franchise. Cavill is no stranger to franchise films, having gained global fame after playing Superman in the DC Extended Universe. He also played an antagonist in Mission: Impossible — Fallout, and the titular character in Netflix’s fantasy series The Witcher. However, Cavill has a number of failed franchise starters under his belt as well. One of them is staging an unexpected comeback on streaming.
In 2015, Cavill starred alongside Armie Hammer in Ritchie’s The Man from U.N.C.L.E., a movie intended to launch a new espionage franchise in the vein of James Bond. It underperformed at the box office and received mediocre reviews, putting an end to all plans for a sequel. Nearly a decade later, Cavill and Ritchie reunited on The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, which fared even worse commercially, grossing around $30 million against a reported budget of $60 million. There have been no reports of a follow-up, even though the movie teased the further adventures of the Ministry.
Henry Cavill Needs One of His Franchise Movies to Stick
The third film on this list — the one that’s currently having a resurgence — wasn’t directed by Ritchie; it was helmed by the filmmaker’s former collaborator, Matthew Vaughn. In fact, Ritchie is set to direct a spiritual successor to Vaughn’s debut feature, Layer Cake. Cavill and Vaughn’s movie is Argylle, the action-comedy that was set up as an original feature but was later revealed to be a part of the larger Kingsman franchise. Argylle was distributed theatrically by Universal, but was designed as an Apple Original. It didn’t live up to expectations on either front, grossing just $96 million worldwide after being acquired by Apple TV for a reported $200 million. According to FlixPatrol, it snuck back into the streamer’s top 10 this week, which is rare. It has spent less than 100 days on the list in the past year. Vaughn previously told Collider that he plans to weave the Argylle and Kingsman franchises together, but firm updates are still awaited.
Argylle is streaming now on Apple TV. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
- Release Date
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February 2, 2024
- Runtime
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139 Minutes
- Director
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Matthew Vaughn
- Writers
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Jason Fuchs