Why Francis Ford Coppola’s epic failed so badly

Francis Ford Coppola S Megalopolis bombed spectacularly at the box office, but moviegoers may be wondering how much money it made, how much money it lost, and why it was such a massive commercial flop. Megalopolis is always going to be one of the biggest box office risks of the year. Coppola self-funded the $120 million budget by selling off part of his winery business, which allowed him full creative control to go as weird and outlandish as he wanted with the tone of the film, meaning it wouldn’t have much mainstream appeal.

On top of that, the movie was marred by mixed reviews, allegations of inappropriate on-set behavior and controversy over the use of fake critics quoted in the trailer. It was always going to be an uphill battle for Megalopolis. If it had emerged as a blockbuster hit, it would have been a bigger surprise than Inside Out 2s higher-than-expected box office success. But now that it’s finally arrived in theaters, it’s an even bigger flop than expected. It even fell short of its projected opening weekend, which was estimated at just $5-7 million to begin with ( via Variety).

How much Megalopolis made at the Box Office in its opening weekend

Megalopolis earned only $4 million against its $120 million budget

last weekend, Megalopolis Opened in 1,854 theaters and earned $4 million at the domestic box office (via The numbers). The film grossed a paltry $1.8 million on its first day and an estimated $770,000 from Monday and Thursday previews (via. Term). With its $4 million debut, Megalopolis Finished sixth at the box office. It earned well below the $35 million earned by the weekend’s number-one film, DreamWorks Animation’s The wild robot. Behind The wild robot, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Transformers one, Devara part 1And Speak no evil All outgrown Megalopolis this weekend.

IMAX and premium large format screens accounted for 41% of Megalopolis‘ Opening weekend grossWith IMAX specifically bringing in $1.4 million (or 35%) of the domestic total. The audience was made up of 70% men, with 38% over the age of 35 and 32% between the ages of 25 and 34. According to exit polls, 61% of viewers went to see the movie for Coppola, 29% went to See it for Adam Driver, and 32% were based on recommendations that the film was entertaining. AMC Lincoln Square was the movie’s highest-grossing theater, grossing $84,000 through Saturday.

Term has compared the domestic opening of Megalopolis to other high-profile flaps. It made a similar amount to Michael Cimino’s Heaven’s gate — another ambitious, Otter-helmed epic — that grossed $3.5 million, not adjusted for inflation, in 1980. Heaven’s gate Bombed on such an epic scale that it is credited with single-handedly ending the New Hollywood movement. Term Also compare Megalopolis to Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1Another passion project self-funded by Hollywood royalty (in this case, Kevin Costner). Horizon Gross nearly three times as much as Megalopolis — $11 million in June — and even that wasn’t successful enough to have its sequel shelved.

Megalopolis’ mixed reviews and poor audience response hurt its box office opening

Megalopolis received a controversial D+ CinemaScore from viewers who watched it

Way back in May, when Megalopolis Premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, it was met with a mixed critical response. It earned a “rotten” critics score of 49% on Rotten TomatoesWhich indicates that reviews are split in the middle. Audiences had four long months for mixed reviews to sink in. Last year, studios made the mistake of lifting the review embargo early on. The bottle And Indiana Jones and the Dial of DestinyAnd they both got mixed reviews and ended up underperforming at the box office (and they both had a lot more hype around them than Megalopolis).

Some critics have praised Megalopolis As a masterpiece, but there are just as many critics who call it a tedious, indulgent, pretentious mess. Audiences are wary of taking the time and spending the money to go out to a theater and give a movie their full attention if it’s not guaranteed to be a good time. The biggest hit of the year, Inside Out 2 And Deadpool & Wolverineare well-received by critics and promised entertainment worth the price of admission. Megalopolis has no such promise; Its trailers are confusing and its subject matter is weighty and intellectual.

It didn’t help when MegalopolisThe reactions of the audience came in, they were even worse than the critical reviews. It has a low 34% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and a D+ CinemaScore of outgoing viewers. in comparison, Deadpool & Wolverine has a Twisters Got an A-, and Alien: Romulus Get a B+. Even The Crow Got a B+; Megalopolis‘ D + is in par with BorderlandsA strong contender for the worst-performing movie of 2024. A polarizing film like this needs good word of mouth to turn its box office; The audience ratings suggest Megalopolis Won’t have that.

Hollywood was always worried about the box office chances of Megalopolis

No studio would return Megalopolis on Coppola’s original terms

Hollywood is always concerned that Megalopolis would struggle at the box office. When Coppola initially screened the film for potential distributors, no studio wanted to take him up on his offer. He only managed to secure a distribution deal with Lionsgate when he compromised the terms of the deal and agreed to fund a $15-20 million marketing campaign out of his own pocket (via The Hollywood Reporter). Every studio in Hollywood considered it too risky to play with the film’s total $120 million budget, even with the director of The godfather Behind it.

What Megalopolis’ Bad Box Office Opening Weekend Means

Coppola and Lionsgate will both be fine, but it means Hollywood is less likely to take a chance on another Coppola movie

For the movie itself, Megalopolis‘ Sad domestic box office opening doesn’t mean all that much. Lionsgate isn’t on the hook for the movie’s production budget or even its marketing costs – all this was covered by Coppola – so the studio does not have to reach the usual break-even point of 2.5 times the budget to make a profit. Lionsgate only has to recoup what it costs to get the movie into theaters, which will be far below what it cost Coppola to produce and advertise it. As for Coppola, he’ll probably be good too.

Coppola sold enough of his winery business that he could afford the film’s $120 million budget Without risking bankruptcy. Coppola probably knew there was a chance he wouldn’t get his money back on the project. But he did not direct Megalopolis to make money; He made this movie because it was a passion project of his for decades. Unfortunately, the movie’s failure at the box office gives Hollywood more reasons to avoid financing more Coppola movies — and more risky movies in general. Unfortunately, even a legendary name like Coppola’s isn’t enough to bring audiences to theaters these days.

Source: Variety, The numbers, Term, The Hollywood Reporter