The major studios wouldn’t touch “Megalopolis,” the ambitious passion project from octogenarian Oscar-winner Francis Ford Coppola. Now it’s clear why.
The $120-million film, which Coppola financed with his own money, is on track to open with a disastrous $4 million in ticket sales this weekend from the U.S. and Canada, according to industry estimates, making it an epic flop for the legendary director known for the “Godfather” trilogy, “Apocalypse Now” and “The Conversation.”
The 2 hour, 18 minute epic, a sort of retelling of Roman history through a satirical science fiction lens, has been an obsession of Coppola’s for decades. He shouldered the financial risk himself, taking on the production budget plus marketing and distribution costs, selling off part of his wine business to make it happen.
Coppola, 85, had proved doubters wrong before, pouring millions into the tumultuous production of “Apocalypse Now,” which ended up nominated for the best picture Oscar and grossing more than $100 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.
“Megalopolis” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May to a long standing ovation but mixed reviews, with some praising the scope and ambition and others calling it a jumbled mess. The Times’ Joshua Rothkopf compared its story to Tom Wolfe’s “The Bonfire of the Vanities,” “a funhouse image of a clashing New York City riven by money, power and race.”
The movie features a stacked cast, starring Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight and Laurence Fishburne.
But moviegoers who saw “Megalopolis” rejected it, giving is a devastating “D+” rating from audience polling firm CinemaScore.
Lionsgate is distributing the movie for a fee but is not carrying any of the financial risk (that’s all on Coppola). Still, the Santa Monica studio suffered a headache from the promotional campaign when it released a trailer that included fake quotes from real critics doubting some of Coppola’s classic past pictures. Lionsgate apologized and pulled the trailer.
Apart from “Megalopolis,” Lionsgate has fielded a number of bombs this year, including “Borderlands” and “The Crow.”
“Francis Ford Coppola is one of the world’s greatest filmmakers and a cherished member of our creative family. We are proud to partner with him in giving ‘Megalopolis’ the wide theatrical release it deserves,” said Adam Fogelson, chair of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, in an emailed statement. “Like all true art, it will be viewed and judged by movie audiences over time.”
Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s “The Wild Robot” won the weekend, debuting with a projected $35 million domestically, topping pre-release expectations.
The wildly acclaimed animated movie, based on the Peter Brown children’s book of the same name, is off to a solid start given its reported $78-million production budget and strong word-of-mouth, indicated by an “A” CinemaScore and 98% “fresh” status on Rotten Tomatoes.
In second place was the hit Warner Bros. legacy sequel “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” which grossed $16 million Friday through Sunday for a domestic total of $250 million to date.
