'Napoleon' unleashes first look at Joaquin Phoenix's 'mercurial' military genius at CinemaCon

LAS VEGAS – Even with Denzel Washington and Jennifer Lawrence in attendance, the biggest star on the first night of CinemaCon turned out to be an infamous French military commander.

The first footage for director Ridley Scott's new war film "Napoleon" (in theaters Nov. 22), starring Oscar winner Joaquin Phoenix ("Joker," "Beau Is Afraid") as emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, was revealed Monday evening to an enraptured crowd at the annual convention of theater owners and studios. Vanessa Kirby ("The Crown") co-stars as Empress Josephine.

Describing Phoenix's take on the historical figure as "mercurial," Sony chairman Tom Rothman announced the film is slated to have a "robust theatrical window" this Thanksgiving before streaming on Apple TV+.

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The stunning and epic scene featured the combined Russian and Austrian armies invading the French army camp, though Napoleon has invited the attack and hidden his cannons. From higher ground and with snow whipping across the gray battlefield, Phoenix's character coolly sends waves of his soldiers and horses at their enemies, catching them off guard and sending them reeling in retreat.

But that's where the real carnage starts: When the invaders are on top of ice, the cannonballs rain down on them, sending soldiers into the bloody water as some of them drown and others are violently ripped apart.

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Sony's CinemaCon presentation had plenty of star power, starting with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence sending in a video message from the set of "Bad Boys 4." "We’re hyped, we’re excited," Smith said of the project, which is in the fourth week of filming.

Jennifer Lawrence was on hand in Las Vegas to introduce a clip from the upcoming "No Hard Feelings" (June 23) – "Jennifer is phenomenal in her first-rated comedy," reports director Gene Stupnitsky. David Harbour and Orlando Bloom debuted a trailer for the sports drama "Gran Turismo" (Aug. 11), with Harbour remembering that his first thought was, "How are you going to make a movie out of a racing game?"

And Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney playfully bantered about "Anyone But You." The R-rated comedy just wrapped "hours ago" in Australia and is about "two people who hate each other on the other side of the world."

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Rothman called Washington a "preternatural, iconic, enduring talent" before giving him the award, while Antoine Fuqua, his director on the upcoming "The Equalizer 3" (Sept. 1), called out the running themes in Washington's body of work: "Sense of dignity and honor and morals, a commitment to what’s right and a determination to see that through."

Washington gave a shoutout to the theater owners in his acceptance speech. "We would be nothing without you all," he said. "What we do means nothing if you’re not there, without your houses. We’re here for you, we’re here because of you and I thank you from the bottom of my heart."

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Napoleon': Joaquin Phoenix stars in violent first look at CinemaCon