The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare‘s likely status as a box office failure is disappointing, but it prevents Henry Cavill and the rest of the cast from having to film a depressing sequel. Guy Ritchie’s 2024 movie is based on Damien Lewis’ 2014 novel Churchill’s Secret Warriors: The Explosive True Story of the Special Forces Desperadoes of WWII and depicts a fictional version of the events of Operation Postmaster during World War II. The mission featured the Small Scale Raiding Force (SSRF) and the Special Operations Executive (SOE) raiding Italian and German ships in the Gulf of Guinea.

 

Cavill stars as Gus March-Phillipps in the cast of The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, a British military man who founded the SSRF during World War II. March-Phillipps played an integral role in Operation Postmaster in real life, which is why Cavill’s version of him is the main character in the spy action comedy. While The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare received positive reviews, the movie hasn’t made a huge impression at the U.S. box office, meaning that it’s likely a one-and-done project (and the possibilities of a sequel are slim)

The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare’s Box Office Likely Kills Any Hopes Of A Sequel Movie

The 2024 Spy Film Has Made Less Than $20 Million

Henry Cavill as Gus March-Phillipps in The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare Alan Ritchson as Anders Lassen aiming his bow and arrow in The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare Eiza González as Marjorie Stewart Holding A Machine Gun In The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare Henry Golding As Freddy Alvarez Smoking A Pipe and Holding Rope On A Sailboat in The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare Babs Olusanmokun as Mr. Heron Communicating On An SOS Transmitter In A Train Car In The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare Henry Cavill as Gus March-Phillipps in The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

The 2024 spy action comedy movie’s opening weekend grossed $9 million, which wasn’t too surprising, given that it had a limited domestic release. However, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare‘s box office crashed in its second week in theaters — it dropped 70 percent and earned only $3.86 million the weekend of April 26. A 70 percent drop is almost unheard of, even for films with limited domestic releases, and as of the writing of this article, the movie has only grossed $19 million.

[Gus March-Phillipps] was killed in action during Operation Aquatint, which featured March-Phillipps leading a group of 11 men in raiding the German-occupied French coastline on September 12, 1942.

Based purely on those box office numbers, it seems very unlikely The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare will receive a sequel. Of course, its theatrical release is only part of the story, as Amazon Prime has the distribuion rights in other markets such as Canada and the U.K. If it performs particularly well there that could change things, but it remains a long shot right now. Leaving the story alone and not developing a second film is for the best though, because of what happened to Gus March-Phillipps after the events of The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare ‘s budget was $60 million.

(Henry-Cavill-as-Argylle)-in-Argylle

RELATED

The Rotten Tomatoes score of Henry Cavill’s new movie may be good for his James Bond prospects but its box office numbers tell a different story.

The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare’s Sequel Would Have Been Much Darker

Gus Was Killed In Action

Henry Cavill as Gus March-Phillipps in The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare-1

While The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is much more light-hearted and comedic than most war films, a potential sequel would not be able to follow suit. A second movie would be expected to follow Gus March-Phillipps after Operation Postmaster, but he died less than a year later. After marrying Marjorie Stewart, the military hero was killed in action during Operation Aquatint, which featured March-Phillipps leading a group of 11 men in raiding the German-occupied French coastline on September 12, 1942. Sadly, the team was spotted by the Germans and all died, including March-Phillipps, who was shot while in the water.