‘Argylle’ Bombs With $18 Million Debut

Agent Argylle couldn’t crack the box office code.

Matthew Vaughn’s globe-trotting spy comedy “Argylle” sputtered in its box office debut, earning a dismal $18 million from 3,605 North American theaters. The movie, backed by Apple and distributed by Universal, cost $200 million to produce and is shaping up to be the year’s first big misfire.

Despite terrible reviews and lousy audience scores (it holds a 35% on Rotten Tomatoes and “C+” on CinemaScore), “Argylle” ranked No. 1 at the domestic and global box office. The film added just $17.3 million from 78 international markets for a worldwide tally of $35.3 million.

Vaughn, the filmmaker of “The Kingsman” series and “X-Men: First Class,” intended to turn “Argylle” into a trilogy. But those grand plans are looking a lot less likely at this rate — unless there’s a dramatic uptick in ticket sales. Bryce Dallas Howard stars in “Argylle” as the reclusive author of a popular series of espionage novels. Her life takes a turn when the plot of her fictional books begins to mirror the covert actions of a real spy organization. Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O’Hara and Samuel L. Jackson round out the cast.

“This is a weak opening for a new action comedy,” says David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “For an original [action comedy] to break through, the humor has to jump off the screen. That’s not…