Francis Ford Coppola’s $120-million ‘Megalopolis’ bombs at the box office

Francis Ford Coppola's $120-million 'Megalopolis' bombs at the box office

As a longtime admirer of Francis Ford Coppola’s groundbreaking work, I must admit that watching the unfolding story of “Megalopolis” has been both heart-wrenching and inspiring. The audacity, passion, and sheer risk-taking spirit embodied in this project are truly reminiscent of Coppola’s storied career.


Due to its ambitious nature, the major film studios have not been interested in backing “Megalopolis,” a pet project by Oscar-winning director Francis Ford Coppola at the age of eighty. It’s now understandable as to why.

The movie that Coppola personally funded to the tune of $120 million is predicted to have disappointing box office earnings of approximately $4 million in ticket sales this weekend across the U.S. and Canada. This early prediction suggests a significant failure for the acclaimed director, famous for his work on the “Godfather” trilogy, “Apocalypse Now,” and “The Conversation.

For several decades, Coppola has been passionately dedicated to creating a nearly 2.5-hour satirical science fiction film that revisits Roman history in an amusing manner. He personally assumed the financial risk, funding production, advertising, and distribution costs by selling a portion of his vineyard business.

85-year-old Coppola successfully silenced skeptics with the massive investment in the turbulent creation of “Apocalypse Now,” a film that eventually received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture and generated over $100 million globally, as reported by Box Office Mojo.

The film ‘Megalopolis’ was first shown at the Cannes Film Festival in May, receiving both prolonged applause and varying opinions. While some admired its grand scale and vision, others criticized it as chaotic. Joshua Rothkopf from The Times likened its narrative to Tom Wolfe’s “The Bonfire of the Vanities,” describing it as a distorted reflection of a turbulent New York City, where money, power, and race create conflicts.

This film boasts an impressive ensemble of actors, including Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, and Lawrence Fishburne.

However, audiences who watched “Megalopolis” largely disapproved of it, as indicated by the poor grade of “D+” they gave it according to CinemaScore’s audience polling.

In this arrangement, Lionsgate is selling the movie for a profit, yet they’re not shouldering any financial burdens (all that falls on Coppola). However, there was a bit of a headache for the studio in Santa Monica when they released a promotional trailer containing fake critic quotes about Coppola’s earlier classics. Lionsgate issued an apology and withdrew the trailer.

Besides “Megalopolis,” Lionsgate has also encountered several flops this year, such as “Borderlands” and “The Crow.” (Informal)

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2024-09-29 18:01

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