Francis Ford Coppola's (Who Called Marvel "Despicable") MEGALOPOLIS Will Flop This Weekend With $5 Million

Francis Ford Coppola's (Who Called Marvel "Despicable") MEGALOPOLIS Will Flop This Weekend With $5 Million

Filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola is a legend but his ambitious new sci-fi movie Megalopolis looks set to have a disastrous weekend, making a mere $5 million of its huge $120 million production budget...

By JoshWilding - Sep 27, 2024 03:09 PM EST
Filed Under: Sci-Fi

Much has been said about Francis Ford Coppola's bonkers, pricey sci-fi epic Megalopolis but social media chatter doesn't necessarily translate into ticket sales and the movie looks set to bomb this weekend. 

Earning a dismal $770,000 in previews on Tuesday and Thursday night, The Hollywood Reporter reveals that it's tracking to open between $5 million - $7 million at the North American box office. That's not good for a movie which reportedly cost $120 million to produce before marketing (the campaign included a now-deleted trailer with AI-generated fake quotes from critics).

No major Hollywood studio was willing to finance or distribute Megalopolis in North America after seeing it before the Cannes Film Festival but Lionsgate came on board...and won't be on the hook for distribution or marketing costs. As a result, Coppola looks set to lose a fortune. 

The cast of Megalopolis includes Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Kathryn Hunter, and Dustin Hoffman.

Coppola, who is considered a legend for helming classics like The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, may have finally realised that big-budget filmmaking isn't as easy as it looks. A couple of years ago, he jumped at the chance to tear into superhero movies. 

"When Martin Scorsese says that the Marvel pictures are not cinema, he’s right because we expect to learn something from cinema, we expect to gain something, some enlightenment, some knowledge, some inspiration."

"I don’t know that anyone gets anything out of seeing the same movie over and over again. Martin was kind when he said it’s not cinema. He didn’t say it’s despicable, which I just say it is."

As for what will win the box office this weekend, DreamWorks Animation and Universal's The Wild Robot made $1.95 million in Thursday previews and is looking at a $24 million opening. 

Written and directed by Oscar-nominee Chris Sanders (How to Train Your Dragon), the cast is led by Lupita Nyong’o, Kit Connor, Pedro Pascal, Catherine O’Hara, Bill Nighy, Stephanie Hsu, Mark Hamill, Matt Berry, and Ving Rhames.

The epic adventure follows the journey of a robot - ROZZUM unit 7134, "Roz" for short - that is shipwrecked on an uninhabited island and must learn to adapt to the harsh surroundings, gradually building relationships with the animals on the island and becoming the adoptive parent of an orphaned gosling.

Check out the trailer for The Wild Robot below. 

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relentless1
relentless1 - 9/27/2024, 3:07 PM
broooo thats [frick]in ROUGH... 5 mil only??? and Coppola financed it HIMSELF?? Wild lmao that family just aint good with money huh 😂😂😂😂
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 9/28/2024, 3:56 AM
@relentless1 - Depends what you value more. This movie was worth every penny.
relentless1
relentless1 - 9/28/2024, 11:25 AM
@ObserverIO - lol I think Francis values the boatload of money hes gonna lose off the back of this poorly performing film
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 9/28/2024, 11:56 AM
@relentless1 - He obviously doesn't or he wouldn't have made the film. His intentions weren't commercial in value at all. He made the film because he wanted to. And there was a monetary price he had to pay.

I bought a ticket. It cost money. But I knew I wasn't gonna get that money back. It was the price I had to pay to get o see the movie.

The budget was the price Coppola had to pay to make the movie.

We both got exactly what we wanted for our money.
relentless1
relentless1 - 9/28/2024, 2:41 PM
@ObserverIO - the article says he put his own money into it and let me tell you, NOBODY puts millions of dollars into something without wanting to see a return on investment lmao whatever world youre living in; please come back to this one
Equivocal
Equivocal - 9/28/2024, 3:56 PM
@relentless1 -

you are completely right !
nobody, and I mean

NOBODY

makes a movie, a play, a car, a show, etc. without expecting a profit from it !

nobody makes it just for the love of it, I guess making a big budget film is not as easy as everybody think it is.

I guess coppola played around and found out !

ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 9/29/2024, 4:49 AM
@relentless1 -@Equivocal - You're both not quite getting it.

Usually you would be right. Studios make movies to make money. It's a business. They make movie for commercial reasons and then the director makes the movie for artistic reasons. And a lot of independent movies are also made that way too, with an entrepreneurial spirit.

But Coppola has money. His motivation was artistic, not commercial. He wanted to make some art and the kind of art he wanted to make was expensive. But he had the money so he did it. Now I'm sure he would have liked to see some money come back, but he wasn't expecting any to.

What he wanted was not money. What he wanted was Megalopolis. That had a price tag.

Have you never bought something that you wanted from a shop or from e-bay or wherever? You pay for it with money because you want the thing more than you want the money.
Equivocal
Equivocal - 9/29/2024, 7:58 PM
@ObserverIO -

I have not seen this flick, nor I intend to, and judging by copola comments;

"we expect to learn something from cinema, we expect to gain something, some enlightenment, some knowledge, some inspiration."

I'm sure he did learn something from MegaFlopolis, not to make 'art projects' that are too expensive and NOBODY cares to watch.


ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 9/30/2024, 3:49 AM
@Equivocal - No, he learned that he can make whatever he wants as long as he's prepared to pay for it.
tmp3
tmp3 - 9/27/2024, 3:08 PM
I’m sure this movie sucks shit but lmfao at how desperate josh is getting. “Shameless” would only be scratching the surface
Blergh
Blergh - 9/28/2024, 9:48 AM
@tmp3 - I‘m more shocked at older filmmakers who are Marvel fans. It’s no surprise the previous generation doesn’t like the current generation’s blockbusters. That’s time, tastes change.

I hope it’s a hit for him and he got out of it what he needed.

I admire filmmakers who finance their own projects despite pushback. That also includes Neil Breen, mind you.
Coppola had his vision and I’m usually here for it, if the movie leans in any way politically doesn’t matter to me. I’ve gladly watched The Trunp prophecy and Amerigeddon despite leaning left.
The1st
The1st - 9/27/2024, 3:14 PM
@Lisa89 - How was it?
Malatrova15
Malatrova15 - 9/27/2024, 3:15 PM
@The1st - better than The Marvels
The1st
The1st - 9/27/2024, 3:17 PM
@Malatrova15 - She went to see it...so I'm asking.
Lisa89
Lisa89 - 9/27/2024, 3:19 PM
@The1st - I’m seeing it in about three hours. I’m expecting an incomprehensible plot and stunning visuals. If that’s the case, I’ll be glad I saw it on the big screen, but will never see it a second time.
AllsGood
AllsGood - 9/27/2024, 3:24 PM
@Malatrova15 - Marvel Studios The Marvels has a 62% at Rotten Tomatoes and an 82% Audience Score. Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis as an 50% at Rotten Tomatoes Score.

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harryba11zack
harryba11zack - 9/27/2024, 3:39 PM
@Malatrova15 - User Comment Image
Malatrova15
Malatrova15 - 9/27/2024, 3:42 PM
@The1st - its ok you can trust me
Malatrova15
Malatrova15 - 9/27/2024, 3:43 PM
@AllsGood - they use tomatoes to rate movies? ...bro ..republicans are so weird
Malatrova15
Malatrova15 - 9/27/2024, 3:52 PM
@harryba11zack - stop the bigotry start the moustachy
Vigor
Vigor - 9/27/2024, 3:59 PM
@harryba11zack - lmao you're something else
harryba11zack
harryba11zack - 9/27/2024, 4:14 PM
@Vigor -
User Comment Image
AllsGood
AllsGood - 9/27/2024, 7:20 PM
@Malatrova15 - Marvel Studios The Marvels OPENED with $46,110,859 Domestic :) Ha Ha Ha
Malatrova15
Malatrova15 - 9/27/2024, 7:21 PM
@AllsGood - boooom baby!!!! That will speed up Ms Marvel season 2 and Captain Marvel 3
AllsGood
AllsGood - 9/27/2024, 7:42 PM
@Malatrova15 - Don't need them to busy planning for Avengers: Doomsday 2026 and Avengers: Secret Wars
2027.

User Comment Image
Malatrova15
Malatrova15 - 9/27/2024, 7:46 PM
@AllsGood - im more excited about The Kang Dinasty ...wonder why they are puting these in the same dates
AllsGood
AllsGood - 9/27/2024, 8:46 PM
@Malatrova15 - Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score is Dropping like Rock. Down to 50% :) Ha Ha Ha
The1st
The1st - 9/27/2024, 10:12 PM
@Malatrova15 - ha...never change
Lisa89
Lisa89 - 9/27/2024, 11:11 PM
@The1st - I wouldn’t call it incomprehensible just done in a broad pseudo Shakespearean style. The visuals were fun if somewhat acid-drenched. Indulgent but never boring. I’m glad I saw it in the theater, but I doubt I’d even sit through it a second time. If ‘Madame Web’ is a 1 then ‘Megalopolis’ is certainly a solid 5; not terrible by any means.
Malatrova15
Malatrova15 - 9/27/2024, 11:36 PM
@AllsGood - says who?
The1st
The1st - 9/28/2024, 9:31 AM
@Lisa89 - Thanks for the review. I think I will go check it out now. Sounds like an interesting trip.
Malatrova15
Malatrova15 - 9/27/2024, 3:14 PM
So Coppola is known for calling out capeslop? Wtf i love Coppola now!
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 9/28/2024, 3:59 AM
@Malatrova15 - Technically Megalopolis is a superhero movie.
Malatrova15
Malatrova15 - 9/28/2024, 4:29 AM
@ObserverIO - yes but is cinema
Fares
Fares - 9/27/2024, 3:15 PM
Now that's a carefully worded headline
AllsGood
AllsGood - 9/27/2024, 3:15 PM
Francis Ford Coppola's (Who Called Marvel "Despicable") MEGALOPOLIS Will Flop This Weekend With $5 Million.


User Comment Image
DrReedRichards
DrReedRichards - 9/27/2024, 3:18 PM
Rent free.
RedSheep
RedSheep - 9/27/2024, 3:20 PM
I'm sure they didn't spend much on marketing anyway. Barely heard anything about this.
kazuma
kazuma - 9/27/2024, 3:21 PM
I don't even know what this movie is about.
FrankenDad
FrankenDad - 9/27/2024, 3:27 PM
@kazuma - neither does Coppola.
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