October 15th 2024.
The autumn season has not been kind to the movie industry, as one of the most highly anticipated films, Megalopolis, has flopped at the box office. Despite being a passion project of renowned filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, the movie has suffered a massive loss of $110 million. This comes after a tumultuous journey to secure distributors for the controversial film, which finally made its debut in cinemas in September.
Megalopolis had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May, where it left critics puzzled and divided. Some even went as far as labeling it as "the worst film ever seen," according to Metro's own critic. However, the movie was a labor of love for Coppola, who had been working on it since the 1980s. He even self-funded the project with a reported budget of $120 million, after selling his winery.
During the film's press conference at Cannes, Coppola confidently declared that the financial aspect did not matter to him, as his children were successful without a fortune. He stated, "We are fine. It doesn't matter." But despite his optimistic outlook, Megalopolis failed to meet its production budget, with a meager international box office of just over $10 million, weeks after its release.
Variety revealed that the initial weekend predictions for the film were already disappointing, between $5-$7 million. However, it fell short of even that, earning only $4,007,797 domestically. Two and a half weeks later, Megalopolis has accumulated a worldwide gross of $10,803,623, with a majority of it coming from the domestic market.
This leaves the movie with a significant loss of $110 million, not including any marketing expenses that distributor Lionsgate may have incurred. It also received a brutal D+ CinemaScore, slightly better than the flop Joker: Folie à Deux, which is also facing a significant financial loss.
Despite initially generating buzz and excitement among fans, thanks to the bold vision showcased in the trailer, Megalopolis failed to attract audiences to the theaters. The film now has a lower score among fans on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with only 35% on the audience rating compared to 46% on the Tomatometer.
Coppola debuted the film at Cannes alongside his star-studded cast, which includes Giancarlo Esposito, Jon Voight, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Dustin Hoffman, and Nathalie Emmanuel. Esposito plays the conservative mayor of New Rome, the film's version of New York, who is pitted against the genius architect Cesar Catalina, played by Voight. The movie follows Cesar's quest to transform the struggling city into a utopian society with his visionary building plans.
Despite the disappointing box office numbers, Coppola's ambitious film has received mixed reactions from fans and critics. Some have labeled it as a "total dud" and "a waste of time and money," while others have hailed it as "a true work of art" and "a pleasure" to watch.
Megalopolis is currently playing in theaters, and if you have a celebrity story, video, or pictures, feel free to get in touch with the entertainment team at The Agency. You can email us, call us, or submit your story through our website. We would love to hear from you.
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