‘Napoleon’ Global Box Office Charges to New Levels

The Big Picture

• Apple Studios took a chance and released Ridley Scott’s Napoleon in theaters, and it’s paying off with $170.8 million in global ticket sales.
• The film has been successful internationally, earning $117.7 million from over 12,800 screens in 64 overseas markets.
• Despite criticisms of historical inaccuracies and its long runtime, Napoleon is still holding strong at the box office and will also have a streaming release on Apple TV+.

Apple Studios took a chance by releasing Ridley Scott’s historical epic Napoleon in theaters – and it’s a chance that has mostly paid off. The biopic of the famed French general is soaring to new heights at the worldwide box office. The film to date has grossed $170.8 in global ticket sales, the vast majority of which have come from overseas markets. Napoleon has garnered this total by generating $117.7 million at the international box office and $53.1 million domestically.

Napoleon earned its international box office haul from more than 12,800 screens in 64 overseas markets. Even through its third weekend in theaters, the film is staying strong internationally and brought in $16.1 million during this most recent three-day, a decent hold from the $35 million it garnered last weekend. On the domestic side of things, the film has reached its $53.1 million total thanks to a $4.2 million weekend at 3,350 locations throughout the United States.

The drama, which stars Joaquin Phoenix as the titular general and Vanessa Kirby as his wife and consort Joséphine, was another big swing for the director, known for his large battle sequences – of which Napoleon featured many. This played a large role in the film’s reported $200 million budget – a figure the film is unlikely to recoup during its theatrical run. This puts the film in a similar situation to Martin Scorsese’s drama Killers of the Flower Moon, another Apple production which got a theatrical release – and which is also unlikely to get back its budget, also reportedly hovering around $200 million. However, like Killers, Napoleon will also get a streaming release on Apple TV+ at a later date.

‘Napoleon’ Was Criticized for Its Historical Inaccuracy

While audiences are going to see Napoleon, the reaction has been mixed. The film currently has a 58% on Rotten Tomatoes for both the critic’s and audience scores. Like Killers, much of the criticism was lobbied toward the film’s extended runtime of two-and-a-half hours. Film critics and French historians, in particular, also scoffed at the number of historical inaccuracies within the film. Scott has remained unfazed by these criticisms, though, reminding audiences that most epics of this nature take historical liberties.

Scott probably isn’t done raking up sales at the box office, either, he’s currently working on a sequel to his 2000 Roman Empire epic Gladiator. Scheduled to be released in 2024, Gladiator 2 has been hotly anticipated by fans for years, and it’s all-star cast of Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington and more will likely generate a ton of buzz.

Scott directed Napoleon from a screenplay by David Scarpa. He also produced the Apple Studios film through his Scott Free Productions banner alongside Phoenix, Kevin J. Walsh and Mark Huffam. Executive producers include Aidan Elliot and Michael Pruss.

Napoleon is now playing in theaters across the United States. Stay tuned to Collider for updates.