Ridley Scott and French film critics haven't been shy about sharing their thoughts on each other over the director's latest historical epic, Napoleon, but it appears Scott has had the last laugh as the film came out strong for its opening day at the French box office.
Napoleon had its opening day in France on Wednesday, with roughly 120,000 screens across the country playing the film starring Joaquin Phoenix as the titular French conqueror. It proved to be a strong opening for the film as it brought in an estimated $946,000, or €868,000, according to The Independent.
Success at the French box office comes alongside a strong opening weekend in North America, with the film on track to bring in between $36 and $37 million.
Napoleon's successful opening day in France follows days of a harsh back-and-forth between Scott and French critics over the film as reviews began rolling out. The film was met with negative reviews from many French critics, citing the film's historical inaccuracies as a major reason for their response, prompting Scott to fire back in-turn with comments such as “The French don't even like themselves.”
Critically, the film has fared much better outside of France with generally positive reviews across the board for the epic. It has still drawn criticism for some of its historical inaccuracies, which is nothing new for Scott's historical films, but has been praised for the performances of Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby alongside the battle sequences.
Scott isn't going to be slowing down, either, as he has already been hard at work on 2024's Gladiator 2.
The sequel will pick up years after the events of 2000's Academy Award-winning Gladiator and will follow Lucius, nephew of Commodus, as an adult in Rome. Paul Mescal has been cast as Lucius, replacing Spencer Treat Clark who portrayed the character as a child in 2000, alongside returning stars Connie Nielsen, Derek Jacobi, and Djimon Hounsou. Denzel Washington will join the cast as an unnamed former gladiator who has become a wealthy merchant in Rome with a grudge against its emperors.
Napoleon is currently out in theaters.
Follow Us
Subscribe