“In 6-7 years it’ll slowly start to…”: Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Megalopolis’ Could Face the Same Fate as Morgan Freeman’s One Cult Classic Film That Was a Huge Box Office Flop At First
- Megalopolis, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, faces mixed critical reception and a gloomy box office forecast ahead of its release.
- Initial predictions suggest a sub-par opening, with fears of the film failing to break even against its $120 million budget.
- Despite current challenges, Megalopolis has the potential to achieve cult classic status, similar to a Morgan Freeman film that initially struggled.
A star-studded cast involving the likes of Adam Driver, Aubrey Plaza, Giancarlo Esposito, and Shia LaBeouf headlined the Francis Ford Coppola directorial Megalopolis, which had opened to critical previews a while ago. A passion project of The Godfather visionary, the self-funded movie is now just weeks away from its theatrical release. However, a slew of mixed reception and a gloomy box office forecast threatens to mar that fateful event.
Initial predictions have put the movie to open with a sub-par result in terms of breaking even with its budget. Yet, fans and cinema enthusiasts believe otherwise. As pointed out by many, a medley of poor decisions may have impacted the film’s initial chances of having a fair shot at the theaters. Regardless, there may be a silver lining in the long term.
Megalopolis may become a celebrated cult classic despite current hiccups
Close on the heels of Megalopolis gearing towards a public release, social media became abuzz with reports of the Francis Ford Coppola movie heading to a $5 million predicted domestic opening. Significantly lower than the film’s $120 million budget, the number has given rise to fears of it failing to break even at the box office. A current Rotten Tomatoes score of 54% and negative reviews have become a cause for concern.
Contrary to this negativity, many social media users believed Megalopolis had enough potential to go beyond. Rather, several vouched that it could attain a cult classic status regardless of its box office output.
Fortunately, a celebrated cinematic masterpiece starring Morgan Freeman, The Shawshank Redemption, stands as a major example to aid this theory. Released in 1994, the thriller made just about $16 million against its production budget of around $25 million. However, its seven Oscar nominations, strong performances, and word-of-mouth landed it several re-releases as well as a cult classic status, a fate that could well befall Megalopolis.
Francis Ford Coppola took decades to make Megalopolis a reality
Francis Ford Coppola came up with the idea of Megalopolis while producing one of his acclaimed hits, Apocalypse Now in the late ‘70s, with an initial script coming in 1983. However, other projects took priority, and the project was shelved. Thereafter, attempts to revive it with table reads failed in 2001 following the Twin Towers attacks.
In 2019, the filmmaker announced his ambitious plan to fund the project on his own, selling off portions of his winery to raise $120 million, but the COVID-19 pandemic brought in new delays.
Finally, about three years later, Coppola began principal photography and wrapped up Megalopolis by 2023, concluding a vision of several decades, though in the face of a possible loss.
Megalopolis is set to arrive in theaters on September 27, 2024.
