Matthew Vaughn’s big-budget “Argylle” will get a conventional theatrical release courtesy of Universal. The Apple Original Films action thriller, produced with Vaughn’s production company MARV, stars Henry Cavill alongside Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O’Hara, John Cena, Ariana DeBose, Dua Lipa and Samuel L. Jackson.
Penned by Jason Fuchs and based on an as yet-unpublished novel by Elly Conway, “Argylle” is produced by Cloudy Productions and Vaughn’s regular collaborators Adam Bohling and David Reid, as well as Fuchs. Zygi Kamasa, Carlos Peres, Claudia Vaughn and Adam Fishbach serve as executive producers. The film was initially touted as the acting debut of pop star Lipa, who is also providing original music for the title track and the score. However, she will appear (in a role of indeterminate size and onscreen impact) in Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” this July.
This film is being structured as the start of a new franchise, but then that’s the talking point for every remotely commercial release in this IP-centric day and age. Whether that comes to pass will depend on whether audiences see and enjoy the film, be it in theaters or on Apple TV+ in numbers enough to justify a follow-up.
It’s also another sign that Apple is serious about using a theatrical release’s prestige, marketing value and revenue potential to boost its big-deal original features. They partnered with Paramount for Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” and Sony for Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon,” both films getting something approximating a global theatrical release – and theatrical window – prior to their streaming debuts.
With Amazon doing likewise with high-profile originals like “Air,” and intended-for-streaming titles like “Smile,” “The Boogeyman” and “80 For Brady,” it’s more evidence that the industry understands that streaming and theatrical can and should work together.
The globe-trotting spy flick will open theatrically on February 2, 2024 prior to its global streaming launch on Apple TV+.
