5 Reasons Why Fans Flat Out Rejected One of 2024’s Biggest Movie of the Year
- Francis Ford Coppola is a passionate and ambitious filmmaker who had the dream to make a movie called Megalopolis.
- He wanted to portray an idealistic future with a righteous hero. but the story couldn't capture the audience's attention.
- In the end, the movie failed to make a dent at the box office due to disparate acting, cringe dialogues, and an incoherent storyline.
There are times when we can say Hollywood did not have a good year. Ever since the pandemic, theatres are struggling to go back to the glorious days of flowing revenue, which in turn is affecting the movie business and its success. Apart from that, there seems to be something lacking in the way stories are told. Filmmakers are focusing on grandeur and star power more than fleshing out a good story.
Hence, what we get in the end are a couple of flops at the box office, taking away any momentum built by the good stories. With the hype and buzz created by Francis Ford Coppola’s return to the big screen after 3 years, his dream project Megalopolis failed to resonate with the masses. Let’s take a look at the possible reasons why the movie bombed at the box office.
Disparate Acting by the Megalopolis Star Cast
Many reviews detailed how Megalopolis failed to consolidate the storyline with its star cast. Despite the massive star power pulled in by Francis Ford Coppola, including Adam Driver and Aubrey Plaza, among others, the actors didn’t come together as a unit to portray the story. It felt like everyone was acting in different genres with different intensities of passion.
Perhaps the essence of the story got lost in the narrative as the actors couldn’t bring the same on screen. The genres of their performance kept clashing with each other, bringing out a confused portrayal in the end.
Cringe Dialogue
Honestly, we never thought we would have to face something like this with an award-winning storyteller and director like Coppola. The dialogue and overall conversations viewers heard in the movie were outdated and, in fact, made the audience cringe in certain situations. Coppola is known for the depth and emotion he brings to life on the big screen, an aspect that felt completely lacking in Megalopolis.
The star cast and the otherworldly storyline garnered massive buzz around the movie, but what’s the use of the same when the core of the movie failed in the end? Megalopolis collected merely $13 million at the box office against the humungous budget of $120–136 million.
Outdated Tropes
One of the primary reasons why Megalopolis, despite being set in a utopian future, felt so outdated to the fans is because Coppola started ideating the story back in 1977 and he started writing the script in 1983. What felt futuristic at that time is all regular for people now, which is why the fact that the city is based in the future didn’t come across as vitally as the director wished for it to.
Moreover, the money spent on the project, since Coppola had to self-fund it, says a lot about the extent of the movie. The financiers were unsure of the concept since its inception since they were afraid the story wouldn’t resonate with the masses. Their fears came true in the end, leaving Coppola with a failed movie in his legendary filmography.
Radical Idea Wrapped in an Inconsistent Story
While Coppola had great hopes for this movie given the grandeur of the narrative and how the filmmaker envisioned it all on screen, the story fell flat on its face since many smaller details did not get enough screen time. The director had a radical thought to portray America in the Old Roman trope with a central character hell-bent on bringing significant change. However, the storylines that could support this magnificent thought were again missing.
Somehow the branches of the plotlines couldn’t meet in the middle to bring out the holistic picture. The rivalries and villainy of the characters felt shallow with superficial dialogue that never got to the tipping point of the story. Sadly, Coppola’s ambitious vision for Megalopolis couldn’t find a better representation on the big screen.
Popor Publicity and Marketing
For a project of this scale and grandeur, the makers should have done a better job in spreading the word about the movie and its inherent concept. This could have created more buzz in the industry and informed the masses. Coppola’s dream project did become a reality in the end, but if his fans knew the story behind making the movie, it could have made a bigger impact.
Moreover, promotional activities for the movie could have been undertaken with talk show appearances and other activations that could have allowed the movie to start a unique conversation and capitalize on the buzz.
