Nicolas Cage was seen in Malibu over the weekend with his wife, Riko Shibata, and their three-year-old daughter, August Francesca Coppola, marking a rare public family outing amid an ongoing legal and medical case involving his eldest son.
The Oscar-winning actor, 61, walked toward a restaurant in a velvet jacket while Shibata, 29, dressed casually in jeans and a black T‑shirt as she accompanied their daughter, who carried a water bottle and sported colorful sneakers. Cage and Shibata met in Shiga, Japan, while he was working on the film Prisoners of the Ghostland.
The family appearance comes amid fallout from an April 2024 incident in which Christina Fulton, the mother of Cage’s eldest son, Weston Coppola Cage, accused him of attacking her outside his apartment complex. During an April hearing, Los Angeles County Judge Enrique Monguia found that Weston "does suffer from an eligible mental health disorder" and granted him a two‑year mental health diversion program to resolve two felony assault charges. The judge said he was satisfied the disorder "was a significant factor in the commission of the charged offenses" and described Weston as having been "suffering a breakdown at the time." The diversion could lead to dismissal of the case if Weston follows the treatment plan and the court’s conditions, with the matter potentially dismissed in April 2027.
Fulton has given detailed testimony about the April 28, 2024, incident, saying she rushed to her son’s residence after being told he was setting the apartment on fire and that she was then assaulted. In court she alleged that Weston grabbed her by the hair, shoved her to the elevator floor, and used his body weight to crush and suffocate her, including allegedly putting his thumb in her eye socket. She said the attack left her with life‑threatening injuries and that a friend intervened to help her. Fulton told the court she still loves her son but said he has not expressed remorse or accountability.
Weston, 34, was arrested in July 2024 on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon and was released on $150,000 bond. His attorney told the court the defense requested diversion after Weston received intensive inpatient and outpatient treatment following the incident. Counsel said Weston had recently changed doctors and started a new medication at the time of the alleged assault. After the arrest, the lawyer said Weston has remained sober, moved from his previous residence, is "in a good head space" and is "about to get married." The judge ordered that Weston avoid harassing the alleged victims and refrain from possessing weapons for two years. A progress report hearing was scheduled for July.
Fulton told the court she supported diversion over prison but asked that her son receive additional inpatient treatment. She has also pursued civil claims: earlier this year she sued Nicolas Cage, alleging he enabled their son by bailing him out of jail, supporting him financially and drinking with him despite his substance‑abuse history, and failing to help secure psychiatric care. The lawsuit against Cage was dismissed. A lawyer for Cage called Fulton’s allegations "absurd and frivolous," saying Weston is an adult and that Cage does not control his behavior.
The outing in Malibu provides a brief public glimpse of Cage’s family life as legal and medical proceedings involving his son continue. Court records show the diversion program’s success will be measured by compliance with treatment and court orders over the coming two years.