Francis Ford Coppola has finally finished his magnum opus Megalopolis. The filmmaker’s self-funded sci-fi epic has reportedly been in the making since the ‘80s and the Apocalypse Now director finally got to revive it a few years ago. However, the film has a huge obstacle to pass through as prominent studios are reportedly not interested in giving a distribution deal.
Coppola’s epic has reportedly been avoided like the plague by major Hollywood studios, who allegedly do not see commercial potential in it. Though the film has names such as Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, and Audrey Plaza attached to it, there seem to be no takers. After a recent screening, fans have been reportedly campaigning for studios to give the film a wide release.
Studios Reportedly Feel That Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis Is Not Marketable
Francis Ford Coppola has been talking about his dream project Megalopolis for quite some time. After abandoning the project in the early 2000s, after the September 11 attacks, Coppola revived the project in 2019 (via Ain’t it Cool News). He reportedly self-financed the film by selling part of his wine empire and secured over $120 million in funding (via GQ).
Coppola cast prominent stars such as Adam Driver, Shia LaBeouf, Nathalie Emmanuel, and more in lead roles. Driver called the film ‘undefinable’ earlier this year, after catching a special screening of the epic. The film would reportedly premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. However, Coppola reportedly screened the film to potential distributors and received a myriad of reactions.
According to the newsletter What I’m Hearing by Matthew Belloni, studios seemed to have been bewildered by the film and described it as something that had never been seen before. The Hollywood Reporter also included some reactions from the attendees, who all seemed to feel that the film would not be picked by a mainstream distributor. An attendee said,
“I find it hard to believe any distributor would put up cash money and stay in first position to recoup the P&A as well as their distribution fee. If [Coppola] is willing to put up the P&A or backstop the spend, I think there would be a lot more interested parties.”
According to THR, Coppola was reportedly looking for a distribution deal that would take care of marketing costs of up to $100 million globally, including spending on Prints & Advertising (P&A).
Francis Ford Coppola’s Magnum Opus Gets A Fan Campaign
Fan campaigns have moved mountains when it comes to releases and changes in films in the past. A ruthless and controversial fan campaign resulted in the release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League and led to key design changes in Sonic the Hedgehog. Now, with Francis Ford Coppola’s epic Megalopolis seemingly unsold, fans seem to have taken to social media to get the film a release.
The sci-fi epic has been described by many insiders to be too weird to market to audiences, despite it being extremely original in its vision. The filmmaker’s asking price for a distribution deal also seems to be too much for an experimental studio such as Neon or A24 to pick up. Some insiders even mentioned that the film was just not good enough and it was sad to see Coppola’s film be bad (via THR).
However, another response from the screenings has reportedly led to fans demanding a wide release of the film. According to the X (formerly Twitter) profile President of Physical Media, the film was described as,
“The film is like Einstein and Relativity in 1905, [and] Picasso and Guernica in 1937. Coppola marks a historic new moment for cinema”
The description and positive responses from some members who attended the screenings seem to have encouraged fans to campaign for the film’s release on social media.
@CEOAdam this needs to be distributed by AMC like the Taylor Swift movie
— Joestar (@Joestar85231951) April 24, 2024
For the longest time I've been really interested in wanting to see this.
— Trevor N (@trevs899) April 24, 2024
I need this in my face
— Fred worst (@sweatyfreddurst) April 23, 2024
Yet they'll spend 2x that to advertise remakes
— ValiantReaper (@ValiantReaper) April 8, 2024
“…too experimental & not commercial enough” I’m sold.
— X-Men Films / the SUPER (@XMenFilms) April 9, 2024
While Megalopolis is still without a distributor, Variety reported that the film might have found a French partner ahead of its Cannes premiere with the modest company Le Pacte.
