‘Napoleon’ First Look: Apple Shows First Image From Ridley Scott/Joaquin Phoenix Film & Announces Theatrical Release Date

Mere days away from the release of “Beau is Afraid,” it appears that fans of Joaquin Phoenix have another 2023 film to get excited about, as Apple has announced the theatrical release date (yes, theatrical) for the upcoming Ridley Scott film, “Napoleon.”

READ MORE: Ari Aster Is Developing A New Project With Joaquin Phoenix & Says His Next Film Will “Almost Certainly” Be A Western

According to Variety, Apple is teaming up with Sony to release “Napoleon” in theaters on November 22, just in time for the annual Thanksgiving holiday rush that hits cinemas. It’s unclear when the film will eventually find its way on Apple TV+, but given the recent “Killers of the Flower Moon” theatrical announcement, it’s clear the streaming platform is allowing for features to play in cinemas for a lot longer than Netflix would. So, that’s a good thing.

As the title suggests, “Napoleon” is a historical biopic about the legendary French leader. The film stars Joaquin Phoenix as the title character alongside Jodie Comer. The film is the latest to be directed by Ridley Scott, who at the age of 85, is seemingly releasing films at a faster pace than any time in his career prior. 

READ MORE: ‘Beau Is Afraid’ BTS Trailer: Ari Aster Describes His Dark Odyssey As “A Jewish ‘Lord Of The Rings,’ But He’s Just Going To See His Mom”

In addition to the release date information, we also get our first look at the film. And well, it’s definitely a historical epic about Napoleon, right? The image doesn’t do much in the way of exciting us too much. Sure, you see Phoenix dressed as Napoleon, but it doesn’t really point to any filmmaking choices or performance quality. But considering we’re talking about Phoenix and Scott, our hopes are justifiably high.

As mentioned, “Napoleon” is the second film in a matter of days from Apple to get a theatrical release date. “Killers of the Flower Moon” is set to arrive in cinemas in October and will get a little more than a full month of wide release before “Napoleon” comes long to snatch up those older audiences aching for something different than the superhero stuff. 

And speaking of competition, “Napoleon” has quite a bit. In terms of superheroes, there’s “The Marvels,” which is arriving on November 10. After that, you have the ‘Hunger Games’ prequel a week later, which debuts the same day as “Trolls Band Together.” On the same day as “Napoleon,” Disney is releasing its new animated film, “Wish.” Again, these are likely not direct competition for “Napoleon as far as audiences go. However, that’s quite a few films all vying for limited screen space in local cinemas. So, you might have to search a bit harder to watch “Napoleon” on November 22.