Francis Ford Coppola's $120M Sci-Fi Movie Struggle Is Part Of A Much Bigger Hollywood Problem

Summary Megalopolis, a 40-year passion project by Francis Ford Coppola, struggles to find a distributor despite being complete.

Hollywood's focus on franchises makes it hard for original, big-budget films like Megalopolis to succeed.

Even if Megalopolis is a top-tier film, it is likely to struggle at the box office due to the current industry climate.

Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis is still yet to make it to cinema screens, and its struggle is merely one example of a much bigger problem in Hollywood. A passion project of Ford Coppola's, Megalopolis has been in development for over 40 years. Despite now being complete, the movie appears to be failing at the final hurdle. Unfortunately, Megalopolis's release problems are not unique but rather an increasingly common occurrence in modern Hollywood.

Described as a science fiction epic, Megalopolis tells the story of two men who both wish to rebuild a metropolis after it is accidentally destroyed, but whose contrasting visions make them rivals. The idea for the film first came to Ford Coppola in 1979 and has been in and out of development since 1983. Megalopolis was also always going to be a risk, especially given Ford Coppola's 21st century record. However, the biggest threat to Megalopolis is the current state of the film landscape.

Related Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis Problems Repeat A $104 Million Movie From 45 Years Ago The early response to Francis Ford Coppola's upcoming Megalopolis is leaving audiences divided, repeating a similar response from one of his classics.

Megalopolis' Distribution & Release Problem Explained

The Film Has Been Struggling To Find A Distributor

Despite the attachment of a legendary director and a talented cast of well-known faces that includes Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Aubrey Plaza, and Laurence Fishburne, Megalopolis has been experiencing distribution issues. Ford Coppola, who has already spent $120 million of his own money on the movie's production costs, has said that at least another $100 million is needed to cover its distribution and marketing expenses. For something like a Marvel movie, this amount is very normal, but for a niche sci-fi film, it's a substantial amount of money. As a result, prospective distributors have been put off.

Francis Ford Coppola first conceived the idea of Megalopolis while filming his 1979 hit, Apocalypse Now.

A screening of Megalopolis held earlier this year was attended by bosses from some of the biggest production studios. Representatives from Disney, Paramount, Netflix, and Warner Bros. were all in attendance, but not one of them made a deal with Ford Coppola to cover the movie's distribution and marketing costs. It is worth noting that initial reactions to Megalopolis were mixed, with the film even being described as "batsh*t crazy". Regardless, Megalopolis' release difficulties represent a growing problem within the wider movie landscape.

Hollywood Has A Real Problem With Big (Or Mid-) Budget Original Movies

It's An Issue That's Been Around For A While And Only Seems To Be Getting Worse

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Modern-day cinema is dominated by franchises and IPs, so much so that original big-budget movies are an increasingly rare sight in theaters. The reason is that established brands are more dependable at the box office. A look at the highest-grossing movies of 2023 shows that eight out of ten of those titles were either sequels, such as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Fast X, or adaptations of popular brands, like Barbie and The Super Mario Bros. Movie (via The Numbers).

Movie Worldwide Box Office Gross Barbie $1.433,432,829 The Super Mario Bros. Movie $1.361,678,803 Oppenheimer $970,506,816 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 $845,468,744 Fast X $714,566,116 Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse $681,545,031 Wonka $630,901,535 The Little Mermaid $568,345,048 Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One $566,644,143 Elemental $485,044,319

On the rare occasions when an original idea is given a big budget, it's normally because the studio has clear plans for a franchise off the back of it. Furthermore, most bigger-budget original movies now are very hit-or-miss at the box office. 2023's The Creator, an original sci-fi movie from Gareth Edwards, is a prime example of this.

The fact that it is not only an original idea, but that it's been in development for over decades, was self-financed by its director, and is somewhat of an experimental movie all means that Megalopolis is almost the direct antithesis of the films studios are willing to invest in now.

The odds, therefore, are certainly stacked against Megalopolis. The fact that it is not only an original idea but that it's been in development for decades, was self-financed by its director, and is somewhat of an experimental movie all means that Megalopolis is almost the direct antithesis of the films studios are willing to invest in now. Previously, movies like Ford Coppola's own The Godfather could make massive amounts at the box office despite not being attached to well-known properties. Unfortunately for Ford Coppola, Hollywood has changed, arguably for the worse.

Will Megalopolis Be A Box Office Success If It Releases?

There Are A Lot Of Factors At Play

Francis Ford Coppola still has to overcome a massive hurdle to get Megalopolis released. However, even if he does get it into theaters in some way, be it through more self-financing or a change of heart on the part of the studios, the director's problems won't stop there. Many factors contribute to a film's box office performance and whether Megalopolis will succeed will depend on things like competition and marketing. However, its chances don't look especially good.

Related Francis Ford Coppola's Groundbreaking New Sci-Fi Movie Is A 34-Year Godfather Reunion Francis Ford Coppola's upcoming sci-fi movie Megalopolis stars one actor from The Godfather whom the director hasn't worked with in 34 years.

Of course, lack of commercial viability won't be the only reason Megalopolis fails to perform at the box office. After all, despite everything, quality is still a key factor in determining whether a movie succeeds. Generally, bad films don't tend to do well, and if Megalopolis isn't very good like the early reviews suggest, then it's unlikely to make a lot of money. However, the sad truth is that even if Megalopolis was Francis Ford Coppola's greatest work since The Godfather Part II, it would still likely be a box office bomb, because that's just the way modern Hollywood works.