Ridley Scott’s ‘Napoleon’ World Premieres in Paris With Joaquin Phoenix, Vanessa Kirby

variety.com:

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Holding the world premiere of Ridley Scott‘s “Napoleon” in Paris was a no-brainer for Sony Pictures’ chairman Tom Rothman, due to the film’s French DNA and its subject, the famous French emperor (played by Joaquin Phoenix). “Where else could you begin the worldwide rollout of ‘Napoleon’ than France?,” said Rothman on the red carpet of the event at the Salle Pleyel concert hall, where Phoenix, Vanessa Kirby and Tahar Rahim were able to attend thanks to the end of the 118-day SAG-AFTRA strike.

But the French theatrical bow comes with a downside for Apple, which financed the pricey movie and will now have to wait 17 months to launch the movie on its service due to France’s strict windowing rules. “It’s a great credit to Apple who made the film because this particular movie (…) is a big screen experience,” said Rothman. “It’s epic and it’s large and it’s robust and it wants to play on a big screen.” Apple also opted to give Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” a theatrical release in France, where it was released by Paramount last month after a premiere at Cannes and will land on the streamer in France in 2025.

Scott, who skipped the carpet entirely, gave a brief speech on stage, joking that “Napoleon” was the “10th movie (he’s made) with Tom (Rothman).

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.