Apple’s ‘Napoleon’ Bombs with Audiences After Movie Goers Pour on the Bad Reviews

Apple’s “Napoleon” is already looking like a box office bomb.

The historical drama film, directed by Ridley Scott and based on the life of French revolutionary Napoleon Bonaparte, drastically underperformed in its opening weekend.

According to ScreenRant, the film will need to make $400 million in order to break even. So far, it has made $33 million on its opening weekend.

“Napoleon’s significant budget comes with tremendous pressure,” the outlet noted. “The general rule of thumb is to double a film’s listed budget in order to gauge its production and marketing costs, meaning Napoleon needs to gross at least $400 million in order to constitute a profit.”

“The task is formidable, especially for an R-rated historical epic running a confirmed two hours and 38 minutes,” it continued.

Compounding the pressure of low ticket sales, many filmgoers have also poured on the bad reviews.

The film, starring Academy Award winner Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon, currently has a 60 percent approval audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

“Overall felt disjointed,” one audience member wrote. “It feels like they forced story to be a movie when it would’ve benefitted from being a show.”