LOS ANGELES – The much-anticipated spy comedy film “Argylle,” directed by Matthew Vaughn, failed to meet expectations at the North American box office over the weekend, marking a significant setback for Apple’s foray into theatrical releases.
The movie, which boasts a star-studded cast including Bryce Dallas Howard, Henry Cavill, and Samuel L. Jackson, opened to an estimated $18 million from 3,605 cinemas against a production cost of $200 million to $250 million. Despite little competition, it managed to win the weekend, but the results were disappointing given the high budget.
Distributed by Universal Pictures on behalf of Apple Original Films, “Argylle” is the third traditional theatrical release from Apple in recent months, following Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of The Flower Moon” and Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon,” both of which also had high production costs.
Although “Killers of the Flower Moon” received 10 Oscar nominations, its global box office earnings only reached $157.6 million. “Napoleon” fared somewhat better with $219.4 million to date, but the underperformance of these films calls into question the viability of Apple’s strategy in the theatrical market.
In contrast, a special nationwide release of the faith-based series “The Chosen: Season 4, Episodes 1-3” exceeded expectations, landing at No. 2 with an estimated $6.1 million from 2,260 theaters for the three-day weekend. It officially opened on Thursday and continued to perform well, demonstrating the potential for success in alternative approaches to theatrical releases.
As for other films in theaters, “The Beekeeper” continued to perform well in its fourth weekend, grossing $5.3 million from 3,277 locations domestically and an additional $73.1 million overseas for a global total of $122.5 million. Additionally, both “Wonka” and “Mean Girls” achieved significant milestones domestically, while Oscar-winning films “American Fiction” and “Poor Things” maintained their strong performance in the specialty box office market.
As the debate over traditional theatrical releases versus streaming intensifies, the performance of films like “Argylle” and “The Chosen” raises important questions about the evolving landscape of the film industry and the preferences of modern audiences.