By: Mark Aguilar🇸🇻
Image via: Punch Drunk Critics
Francis Ford Coppola released, after a decades-long endeavor, his biggest passion project: “Megalopolis.” After pursuing financing for 40 years, Coppola eventually decided to self-fund the film and spent a reported $120 million on the production, making this one of the most expensive independent films of all time.
However, despite the star-studded cast and the vision of one of the most renowned American directors of all time, Megalopolis flopped hard at the box office and with critics and audiences. How did this happen, and what went on behind the scenes to cause such a failure?
Coppola became one of the most prominent directors during the New Hollywood era in the 1970s when mainstream American film was being revolutionized by new and young voices in the industry. Other key figures during this era include Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Brian De Palma, and Robert Altman. All of these filmmakers eventually became important figures in film history, and Coppola, arguably, spearheaded this movement.
Coppola saw huge success in the 1970s with his films “The Godfather,” “The Conversation,” “The Godfather Part II” and “Apocalypse Now”. This stretch of four films released, collectively considered to be masterpieces, made Coppola a household name. After this success, he began development on “Megalopolis” in the early 1980s.
The film stayed in development hell for over 40 years, with problems arising whenever Coppola wanted to make it. Some problems included Coppola needing to take other directorial jobs in the 1990s, like “Bram Stoker's Dracula” or the Robin Williams-led film, “Jack.” In the early 2000s, it appeared Coppola was finally gearing up to make the film until the 9/11 attacks happened, which discouraged Coppola from continuing due to the film’s subject matter.
Coppola finally decided he still wanted to make the film happen in the early 2020s. The biggest problem facing the production was its projected budget, which major film studios did not want to fund.
However, in the early 2010s, Coppola invested and created his own wine company, which became one of the biggest producers of premium wine in the U.S. In 2021, Coppola sold part of his business for an estimated $500 million. With this injection of cash, he set his sights on self-financing his long-awaited passion project at the age of 82.
Production on “Megalopolis” began in late 2022 and ended in early 2023. Many reports came out about the unprofessional manner in which Coppola conducted himself.
On-set anonymous sources alleged that Coppola demanded unscripted scenes be filmed, fired his entire visual effects team four months into filming, smoked marijuana for hours on end before filming in his trailer, harassed multiple extras, and tried to kiss one female extra,
claiming he was “trying to get them in the mood” during a nightclub scene, reported The Guardian.
Darren Demetre, an executive producer on “Megalopolis”, defended Coppola after these allegations came to light, confirming he did kiss some female extras but claimed no one ever expressed to him Coppola’s actions made them uncomfortable.
“I have known and worked with Francis and his family for over 35 years,” Demetre told Variety. “Francis successfully produced and directed an enormous independent film, making all the difficult decisions to ensure it was delivered on time and on budget, while remaining true to his creative vision.”
Image via: Michael Buckner- Variety
These allegations came out just two days before the film’s world premiere in May at the Cannes Film Festival, where it received mixed reviews.
After its world premiere, the film struggled to get distribution in the U.S. This was mainly due to no one believing in the film’s ability to make money at the box office, both for the film’s quality and its overly ambitious story that failed to captivate audiences. Also, being a high-budget original film never helps your case with major studios who focus their attention on existing intellectual property-driven projects we see today.
Eventually, Lionsgate acquired the film and released it in theaters nationwide on Sept. 27. The film earned $4 million in its domestic opening weekend – on a budget of $120 million. The film was also universally panned by audiences and critics, causing the film to crash and burn even further.
The film’s demise could continue to detract studios from funding other passion projects from older directors. We continue to see someone like Martin Scorsese struggle to get funding for his films, despite still being one of the best filmmakers working today.
Although Coppola’s film failed, seeing a high-budget original film in theaters is always a good thing that becomes rarer with each passing year.
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