Megalopolis
Francis Ford Coppola made the movie he want to make withMegalopolis — but its astounding box office failure means it ’ll probably be a lot tougher for Coppola to get his next one made . Megalopolisis the ambitious love project that ’s been rattling around Coppola ’s head since the 1970s , and after half a century of iterating and pontificating , he has in conclusion made the film a world by going into his own air pocket . Coppola ego - fundedMegalopolis ’ sock $ 120 million budgetby sell off half a billion dollars ’ worth of his winery business concern .
WithApocalypse Now , The Conversation , Bram Stoker ’s Dracula , andThe Godfathertrilogy all under his belt , Coppola ’s pre - Megalopolismovieshad made him one of the most legendary filmmakers in Hollywood . But now thatMegalopolishas finally arrived in dramaturgy and welcome super assorted reviews from critic and audiences alike , there ’s been some discourse about whether or not Coppola has lose his touch . Coppola is n’t plan to slow down any sentence soon , but the box office nonstarter ofMegalopoliscould have massive ramification for the future of his career .
Megalopolis' Box Office Performance Proves Why Hollywood Was So Scared Of Francis Ford Coppola’s Epic
No Studio Would Touch Megalopolis For 50 Years — And Now, It’s Obvious Why
Coppola start developingMegalopolisaround the time he finishedApocalypse Nowin the late ‘ seventy , buthe struggled to get the project off the ground for nearly 50 years . Every meter he tried to put the movie together , he could n’t obtain a studio apartment that would back it . He need a smash hit budget to bring his aspiration to life , but the studio were concerned that it would n’t fetch back blockbuster boxful berth return . When Coppola made the pic with his own money , realise his vision with full creative control , he struggled to find a electrical distributor to put it in cinemas .
Francis Ford Coppola ’s Megalopolis has bomb spectacularly at the box office . But how much money did it make , and why is it such a monolithic floating-point operation ?
And now thatMegalopolisis in theaters , it ’s obvious why the studio were so leery about the cinema ’s commercial-grade vista . The sense of humor is too bizarre to be crew - pleasing , the interminable philosophizing is too dull for casual moviegoer , and the picture show ’s brazen approach to incest ( in more than one of its subplots ) does n’t exactly have mainstream collection . When Coppola screen the movie for distributer , all they saw was a sure - fire flop . Those studios ’ vexation were validate whenMegalopolisbombed at the box officeon its opening weekend , bringing in just $ 4 million against a budget of 30 fourth dimension that .
Megalopolis Will Make It Even More Difficult For Francis Ford Coppola To Make New Movies
Coppola Could Self-Finance More Projects, But He Won’t Have Much Support From Hollywood
It took Coppola almost 50 years to get the financing together to makeMegalopolis . Butnow that the motion picture has arrive as the director ’s howling failure , it ’ll be even harder for Coppola to get his projects off the ground . There was at least a sliver of hope thatMegalopoliswould be the nextGodfatherorApocalypse Now , butCoppola ’s next motion-picture show will just be see as the nextMegalopolis . If studios were wary about giving Coppola a dispersion tidy sum before the unsuccessful person ofMegalopolis , they ’ll be tightening the purse - bowed stringed instrument even more after it made $ 4 million in its curtain raising weekend .
The most expensive independent film ever made is 2017’sValerian and the City of a Thousand Planets , with a budget of around $ 209 million .
Of course , Coppola could ego - finance more of his task like he did withMegalopolis , but it ’s a mint trickier to drop $ 120 million of one ’s own money than that of a jumbo medium tummy for whom $ 120 million is a rounding error error . Coppola had the $ 120 million to spend onMegalopolis , but he does n’t have an endless supply of millions . To get his next ambitious epic in the can , he might need to rely on support from a major Hollywood studio — and those studios wo n’t be immediate to give him a ton of money afterMegalopolis ’ underperformance .
It’s Still Great That Francis Ford Coppola Made Megalopolis
Coppola Is One Of The Only Filmmakers Left Who’s In It Purely For The Art
AlthoughMegalopoliswill go down as one ofthe big box position bombs of all time , it ’s still bang-up for the cinematic artform that Coppola made this motion-picture show . After giving audiences some of the greatest films ever made — including four all - time classic in a words ( The Godfather , The Conversation , The Godfather Part II , andApocalypse Now ) — Coppola has more than earned the rightfulness to make his passion labor the path he want to make it . It might not have worked for everyone , but seeing one of film ’s great contributors extend in this fashion is still deserving celebrating on some tier .
Francis Ford Coppola ’s passion project Megalopolis end with a poignant inscription , " For my dear , " but who is this dedication bear on to ?
While critics and audiences ca n’t seem to agree on whether or notMegalopolisis a great film , its own conductor seems pretty pleased with it . Coppola hold his own movie a five - star limited review on Letterboxd , so he ’s distinctly felicitous with the final product . In a world where movie maker are always left frustrated and unfulfilled when their vision is compromised by tamper investor and studio executives , it ’s heartening to see a director who managed to get precisely what was in his nous onto the projection screen on such a large exfoliation .
Image via Lionsgate
Francis Ford Coppola Does Not Plan To Retire After Megalopolis
Coppola Has Already Teased His Next Projects
In spite ofMegalopolis ’ box office disappointment , Coppola has frivol away down the possible action of retiring from filmmaking . Coppola has already tease two projectshe wants to make as a follow - up toMegalopolis . He was vague on the details of one of those pic — describe it simply as “ a regular sort of movie ” he ’d require to dash in England with international financing — but he was a bit more specific on the other one : Distant Vision . Distant Visionwould chronicle “ three generations of an Italian American family , ” with the tale revolve around the invention of television .
Coppola said he ’ll finance the production ofDistant Visionwith “ whatever Megalopolis does . ” But based on its chess opening weekend number , it seems unlikely thatMegalopoliswill bring back enough money to finance another pic of its size .
Coppola has describedDistant Visionas “ another roll of the dice , ” similar toMegalopolis , a comparability that will for certain make likely backers anxious following the reception toMegalopolis . Coppola said he ’ll finance the production ofDistant Visionwith “ whatever Megalopolis does . ” But based on its opening weekend number , it seems unlikely thatMegalopoliswill bring back enough money to finance another movie of its size . Even if it has good leg , there ’s no wayMegalopolis ’ box office will have the 30x multiplier it needs to make back its budget .
WhateverMegalopolis ’ total box office earnings end up being , it ’s secure to say thatDistant Visionwon’t have anywhere near the $ 120 million open toMegalopolis . FromThe Godfather Part IVto a film adaptation ofOn the RoadtoaDraculasequel calledThe Van Helsing Chronicles , there are peck of unrealized undertaking that Coppola could return to afterMegalopolis . There ’s no shortfall of movies that Coppola could dive into next . Where there ’s a will , there ’s a way — and Coppola still has more of his wine maker leave to sell off .
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Megalopolis , directed by Francis Ford Coppola , is a visionary 2024 film exploring the ambitious dream of reconstructing New York City into a utopia , following a devastating disaster . The narration delves into the skirmish between the architect ’s utopian vision and the political and personal turmoil that ensues . With a hotshot - stud cast , the photographic film study themes of aspiration , power , and the human spirit ’s resiliency against the backdrop of a futurist city .
Image via Lionsgate