Battle of the blockbusters: Napoleon declares war on Marvel

<p>British director Sir Ridley Scott's new epic, <em>Napoleon</em>, is released in cinemas today. It comes as Marvel’s latest film suffered its lowest box office opening ever, raising questions about the future of superhero movies. </p><p>Have audiences grown tired of the genre Scott has called "boring as shit"? Our critic gives his verdict on the new release, and assesses the state of cinema in 2023.</p><p><em>This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes.&nbsp;</em></p><p><strong>Guest:&nbsp;</strong>Tom Shone, Sunday Times film critic and author of <a href="https://amzn.to/482rcVt" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>The Nolan Variations</em></a><em> </em>and <a href="https://amzn.to/47EcYu9" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Blockbuster: How Hollywood Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Summer</em></a>.</p><p><strong>Host:&nbsp;</strong>Luke Jones.</p><p><strong>Two-for-one cinema tickets at Everyman for Times+ members</strong>: <a href="https://www.mytimesplus.co.uk/offers/two-for-one-cinema-tickets-at-everyman" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.mytimesplus.co.uk/offers/two-for-one-cinema-tickets-at-everyman</a></p><p><strong>Email us:</strong> storiesofourtimes@thetimes.co.uk</p><p><strong>Clips: </strong>20th Century Studios, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Lucasfilm/Disney, Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Hovis, MGM, HBO Max.</p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>