Napoleon’s Upsetting Box Office Collection: Fans Show Concern Over Massive $200 Million Budget For Joaquin Phoenix’s War Movie
Ridley Scott’s grand biopic Napoleon might upset fans with a low box office collection despite coming from Hollywood’s one of the most artistic filmmakers. Scott’s film features acclaimed actor Joaquin Phoenix as the titular French monarch and Venessa Kirby as Josephine de Beuaharnais in the leading roles.
The director aimed to portray the actual story of Napoleon Bonaparte who established himself as a military commander during the French Revolution. However, reports suggest that its box office collection is said to be a debut of $16 million over the traditional weekend and $22 million over the five days and is aiming to earn $24 million at the international box office. Even fans are concerned about this biopic who have shared mixed reviews.
Joaquin Phoenix’s Movie Napoleon‘s Unsettling Box Office Collection
Filmmaker Ridley Scott who’s lauded for creating cinematic masterpieces with his distinctive style might witness an upsetting box office collection over his Napoleon. In this massive biopic, Joaquin Phoenix plays the leading role of Napoleon Bonaparte who after establishing himself as a commander advanced on to solidify his polarizing legacy as the Emperor of France. However, fans have been concerned over the film’s mixed reviews and its target of box office collection.
According to Variety, Napoleon is aligned to earn only $46 million in its opening weekend which is quite little for a historical epic that is coming from Ridley Scott with a $200 million budget. The reviews for this war movie express that Napoleon is “an undeniably impressive technical achievement” but it also shifts the attention away from its title character and toward the man’s wife, Josephine de Beauharnais: “someone who knew how to get his way on the battlefield, but resorted to food fights at home.” Which might leave the audience wanting a clearer understanding of the leading role’s story.
Ridley Scott’s Comments Over Napoleon Earning Mixed Reviews
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Ridley Scott’s Napoleon doesn’t seem to be well-received in France as French characters speaking in the American accent didn’t sit well with them. According to the French GQ (via BBC) is considered “deeply clumsy, unnatural, and unintentionally funny” and even said that Napoleon could be renamed “Barbie and Ken under the Empire”. However, according to the filmmaker who has crafted masterpieces like Gladiator, Alien, Thelma & Louise, and Blade Runner, the audience needs to understand that this biopic of the infamous French monarch is made via Ridley’s eye.
“The French don’t even like themselves, the audience that I showed it to in Paris, they loved it.”
Explaining that while critics are making negative comments on the movie that the relationship between Phoenix and Kirby’s characters is distracting, he has created Napoleon in the best way possible. Joaquin Phoenix told Empire that:
“If you want to really understand Napoleon, then you should probably do your own studying and reading. Because if you see this film, it’s this experience told through Ridley’s eyes.”
The filmmaker mentioned working on various historical films and has taken care of his recent movie’s historical accuracy as well and that’s what even Joaquin Phoenix believes.
Watch Napoleon is in theatres now.
