It isn't looking like Ridley Scott's Napoleon will gobble up a lot at the box office over the Thanksgiving weekend.

A disappointing start

Napoleon poster next to Ridley Scott.

Variety is reporting that Napoleon could be eyeing a $16 million domestic debut ($22 million across the Wednesday-Sunday Thanksgiving count) and $24 million international start. That means the film's total could be just $46 million. If that holds true, it's a disappointing start for a film that cost $200 million. The film will open opposite Disney's Wish and indie filmmakers Saltburn and The Holdovers.

This would be the second R-rated epic from a legacy filmmaker from Apple in recent months. The studio, with Paramount Pictures, just released Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon, which has made $145.8 million worldwide to date. Killers of the Flower Moon opened to a similar $23.2 million domestically on October 20. It has since legged out to $63.6 million domestically in the month since.

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Ridley Scott is a versatile filmmaker. He is known for his iconic sci-fi films like Alien and Blade Runner, but he also has grown akin to the historical epic genre. Scott has directed the likes of Gladiator, Exodus: Gods and Kings, and The Last Duel in his career.

Napoleon tells the story of the titular character (played by Joaquin Phoenix) through the eyes of Empress Joséphine (Vanessa Kirby). Tahar Rahim, Ben Miles, and Matthew Needham also star in the film. Columbia Pictures (via Sony) will co-distribute the film with Apple. The film will eventually stream on Apple TV+.

After Napoleon, Scott will release the long-awaited sequel to Gladiator. The sequel stars Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen, and Joseph Quinn.