Why Argylle Just Flopped

5. The Lack Of A Compelling Hook

The key to selling a movie to the masses is to present them with a simple, easily understood hook - one which can be concisely conveyed across demographics, languages, and cultures.

But Argylle just fundamentally lacked a particularly interesting idea at its core.

The meta-narrative shtick of an author getting dragged into the very world they created has been done many times before, and in 2024 winking at the audience alone isn't enough to get butts in seats.

The marketing hinged itself heavily on the mystery of "Who is Agent Argylle?," yet ultimately failed to convince audiences why they should care much about this.

Instead, it became something of a joke online, with many mocking the possibility of Agent Argylle being protagonist Elly's cat, Alfie all while rumours swirled that Taylor Swift was secretly involved with the production somehow.

And yet, none of this sufficiently compelled folks to leave their homes and see the movie, because at its core, is there anything fresh or interesting about this concept?