Sadly, it seems that Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis isn’t as fun to watch as it is to say, because the movie’s second box office weekend has been nothing short of disastrous. Despite its all-star cast, including Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Jason Schwartzman, and Kathryn Hunter, and boasting the creative talent of writer/director Francis Ford Coppola, the movie has failed to capture the attention of audiences, thanks to its polarizing, and divisive reviews and online reactions. Megalopolis was already in for an uphill box office battle after a lackluster opening, but its sophomore weekend was far worse than anyone was expecting.
Set against a budget of around $110 million (all of which was self-funded by Francis Ford Coppola), Megalopolis made a meager $1 million domestic during its second weekend at the box office. Tally this with the $4 million from its opening weekend, and the movie hasn’t even recuperated 5% of its production budget — and that doesn’t include the marketing budget, which was co-funded by Coppola and Lionsgate.
As well as spelling potential financial disaster for Coppola, who reportedly sold off his winery to fund the 40-year passion project, Megalopolis‘ under-performance (which is putting it lightly) could prove disastrous for Lionsgate. The studio behind major hits like the John Wick and Hunger Games franchises are facing their third blockbuster flop of 2024, all within the span of a few months. Eli Roth’s Borderlands, based on the video game franchise of the same name, was widely regarded as one of the worst game adaptations in recent years, and was pulled from theaters early.
Just a few weeks later, Lionsgate released The Crow, starring Bill Skarsgaard and FKA twigs, and directed by Rupert Sanders. The remake of the cult 1994 original was called many things by critics and audiences, and was ultimately labeled “unnecessary.” It too was pulled from theaters early. Considering its abysmal box office takes so far, there is a good chance that Megalopolis could face the same fate.
Can Megalopolis Be Saved?
It’s relatively safe to say that Megalopolis‘s attempts to redefine cinema haven’t quite gone to plan. The movie has received widely mixed reviews from critics and audiences, with a 46% Tomatometer and 35% Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes. While Francis Ford Coppola himself reviewed Megalopolis and gave his own movie five stars on Letterboxd, other users haven’t been so kind. The film has an aggregate score of 2.4 stars, with the review range varying widely. So, can Megalopolis be saved?
Related
No, Megalopolis Isn’t as Bad as Everyone Says
Francis Ford Coppola’s polarizing sci-fi epic Megalopolis deserves more praise than it’s received.
There is still hope for the project thanks to two possibilities. Francis Ford Coppola is known for making “misunderstood masterpieces.” When Apocalypse Now and The Godfather were both released, many critics wrote scathing reviews, only to go back and correct their verdicts after the consensus swayed in favor of the movies. There is the (incredibly small) chance that we are all wrong, and in ten years we’ll all be groveling at Coppola’s feet, apologizing for mocking Megalopolis and realizing that Adam Driver’s “Back to the cluuub,” line is actually literary genius. Alternatively, Megalopolis could find a second life as a cult, “so-bad-it’s-good,” akin to The Room or the work of Neil Breen.