Holding the world premiere of Ridley Scott‘s “Napoleon” in Paris was a no-brainer for Sony’s motion picture group chairman and CEO Tom Rothman, due to the film’s French DNA and its subject, the famous French emperor (played by Joaquin Phoenix).
Rothman expressed the sentiment, “Where else could you begin the worldwide rollout of ‘Napoleon’ than France?,” as he graced the red carpet at the Salle Pleyel concert hall. The event, attended by luminaries such as Phoenix, Vanessa Kirby, and Tahar Rahim, marked a significant occasion made possible by the conclusion of the 118-day SAG-AFTRA strike. Holding the world premiere
However, the French theatrical debut of “Napoleon” presents a challenge for Apple, the financier of the high-budget film. France’s stringent windowing rules mean that Apple will need to exercise patience, waiting 17 months before launching the movie on its streaming service.
Rothman acknowledged Apple’s significant contribution to the film, stating, “It’s a great credit to Apple who made the film because this particular movie (…) is a big-screen experience. It’s epic and it’s large and it’s robust and it wants to play on a big screen.”
Highlighting their commitment to theatrical releases in France, Apple also chose to release Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” in theaters, where it premiered at Cannes and was subsequently released by Paramount last month. The film will make its way to the Apple streaming service in France in 2025.
Ridley Scott, who chose to forego the red carpet, delivered a brief speech on stage, humorously noting that “Napoleon” marked the “10th movie (he’s made) with Tom (Rothman).” He added, “Remarkably, we’re still good friends!”
The filmmaker also thanked Apple for its financial support. “We weren’t inexpensive and I thank them for that. They put a lot of trust in me to work with that kind of budget.”
Producer Kevin J. Walsh, who was at the Paris premiere, said the budget came to “under $200 million.” Walsh said the movie is expensive because it didn’t rely heavily on CGI and AI. “You see a lot of these movies that are so CGI-packed and they feel like when you’re in a war scene or a battle scene or an action sequence, it’s almost dizzying,” said Walsh. “It’s extraordinary to see the scope of some of the actual in-camera images we shot, and have all those horses and soldiers and cannons going off and mortars of mud getting shot up.”
Having made 12 movies with Scott, Walsh described him as a “general.” “Every Monday morning of prep, he takes a script and we have every head of department around the table, and we flip through it page by page.” He said “if you do your job and you’re prepared, you’re going to win, but if you don’t do your job and you’re not prepared. He’s like ‘Next person!’”