Leonardo DiCaprio poured his heart and soul into his next role in the upcoming Paul Thomas Anderson-written-and-directed movie The Battle Of Baktan Cross, but an insider at Warner Bros. exclusively tells In Touch it’s expected to struggle at the box office due to a combination of an extremely eccentric storyline and oddball humor virtually guaranteed to be a tough sell. 

“Leo has been trying to find a film to do with Paul Thomas Anderson since he was in his early twenties, and 25 years ago, he almost played the lead role in PTA’s Boogie Nights that eventually went to Mark Wahlberg,” says the close insider on the $100 million-plus budgeted project. “This collaboration has been on his bucket list for a while and it’s been tough for Leo to see his old rival Joaquin Phoenix win acclaim for his two extremely juicy leading roles for PTA in The Master and Inherent Vice. But Leo didn’t become a superstar making pure-art movies and copying Joaquin choices never works.”

Anticipation has been building for the picture, which remained untitled until recently, but bigwigs at the studio are becoming increasingly nervous over the tone of the film, according to the source. In an era where studios are demanding huge returns on their nine-figure investments, something original from an auteur like PTA, 54, doesn’t exactly scream a sure-thing. While his previous films like Magnolia and There Will Be Blood have been some of the most critically-lauded movies ever made, not banking on an established franchise has become a risky bet in the industry. 

Even more nerve wracking for top execs at the company, “the day Battle of Baktan Cross is an extremely eccentric and bizarre movie that is going to be too weird for even Leo’s most adventurous fans,” the source says, adding that they’re already predicting box office failure, which means it will “probably going to move off of its summer 2025 release date for a more forgiving position on the release calendar.”

Leo, 50, was recently spotted looking nearly unrecognizable while filming. The former heartthrob sported a knee-length flannel coat and knit hat creating an intentionally unkempt appearance. He’ll be joined by some other heavy hitting A-listers, including Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro and Regina Hall. It’ll also be PTA’s first-ever movie released on IMAX, again emphasizing how large and expensive a production it is. The fact that they chose an IMAX theatrical release for a Paul Thomas Anderson movie, which is a first for the director, signals the studio is anxious about separating the theater viewing experience from at-home streaming in order to juice their in-theater run profits.

However, the source notes that the production costs and thus risks associated with the film aren’t necessarily all director Paul’s fault. “Quite frankly, the problem here is Leo himself,” the source says. “He agreed to make this movie and managed to get his full $25 million fee for the job, but that demand has swelled the budget to a level where making a profit will be extremely challenging.”