Argylle smashes box-office despite scathing reviews

Argylle came in first at the box office in spite of its terrible critical response.

The comedy spy caper received near-universally abysmal reviews, but that didn’t stop audiences from turning up at theatres for its opening weekend.

Pulling in USD $6.5 million (£5.15 million) on its first Friday night, the movie is tipped to approach USD $17 million (£13.5 million) in its first weekend.

With a number of international shooting locations and digital effects galore, as well as a star-studded cast including Bryce Dallas Howard, Dua Lipa, Henry Cavill, Sam Rockwell and John Cena, the movie cost USD $200 million (£158 million) to make.

And its box-office results defy critical opinion, with the movie attracting a raft of negative reviews.

“Argylle Has a Big Secret: It’s a Stunningly Bad Movie,” was one of the harsher review headlines, with Rolling Stone magazine’s reviewer David Fear pulling no punches.

“Argylle is mostly Sam Rockwell acting smug and Bryce Dallas Howard acting terrified," Carla Hill wrote, for Culture Mix. She went on to describe the film as an, “incoherent, bloated mess filled with stupid plot twists”.

"One of the most expensive worst movies ever made," Katie Walsh wrote, for Tribune News Service.