Francis Ford Coppola spent decades developing his dream idea of adapting the Catilinarian conspiracy of 63 BC Rome to a futuristic, dystopian New York City, until he had the script in just the right shape… for absolutely no studio to be willing to take the risk of producing it. The writer-director of The Godfather films, a five-time Academy Award winner, and everyone was like, “Sorry, Francis, this is an offer we can and must refuse.” So Coppola spent $120 million of his own money and Megalopolis was released in theaters last year… if only people had gone to see it. As everyone but Coppola predicted, Megalopolis bombed at the box office, bringing in only $14M total after a $4M opening weekend. Well, after the movie-going public said they didn’t want to see Megalopolis in theaters, Coppola is rebutting by declaring he doesn’t want people to see Megalopolis at home. So what then, no one will see Megalopolis at all? Yes! I mean no! Apparently, Coppola is “taking the film on tour” to screen at different theaters:
Francis Ford Coppola got a standing ovation at the Dolby Theatre on April 26. He got the AFI Life Achievement Award, heartfelt tributes from the likes of Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford and George Lucas, and, toward the end of the night, a glowing speech from Adam Driver, who hailed Megalopolis — the legendary director’s $120 million self-financed, genre-bending epic that stars Driver and pulled in just $14 million during its blink-and-you-missed-it theatrical run in the fall — as “a piece of art.”
What Coppola didn’t get — and apparently doesn’t want — is a distribution deal that lets anyone actually see Megalopolis on a home screen. It’s not on Netflix, Amazon, iTunes or anywhere else with a play button. It can’t even be found on DVD. For all the hosannas recently lavished on it, Megalopolis has become the most celebrated invisible movie of the year.
There is, it turns out, a (somewhat) logical explanation for the disappearing act. One of the perks of spending $120 million of your own money on a movie is getting to decide exactly how — and where — it gets seen. And according to sources close to Coppola, the last thing the 86-year-old auteur wants is for Megalopolis to be watched on a television set.
“He wants it to play in theaters, the way it was intended,” says one insider.
So, instead of a digital release, Coppola is taking the film on tour. Days after the AFI tribute, he boarded a flight to Boston for a sold-out screening at the Coolidge Theater. Later this month, he’s headed to Detroit.
It may not be the most efficient way to earn back that $120 million, but as Driver reminded the AFI crowd, commerce was never the point. “Believe me, I was there,” he said. “There was no talk about how we could make this more commercial.”
I’m no accountant, but I do work with some, and one thing they always say is, “It’s not how much a tour makes, it’s how much it costs.” So however much money these new (allegedly) sold out screenings bring in, I’m wondering how much flights, hotels and entourage will eat out of that extra scratch. Just sayin’, in order to really start making back the remaining $106M he spent on the budget, Francis is gonna need to schedule A LOT of stops on this tour. (What tour? The Megalopolis world tour.) Ultimately, though, I’m stumped on the strategy here. Coppola is not a newbie; he knows films are made available for consumers to watch at home after a theatrical release. Especially in this era of streaming, letting people watch from the comfort of their homes could have been a key way for Megalopolis to build an audience. Even if it started for some as a hate-watch, at least it might’ve gotten eyes on the film. But this, “Pay to see it in the theater, or not at all!” feels like more of the “you just didn’t get it!” energy Coppola brought to his Razzie acceptance speech.
So instead of doing a struggle tour, how about Francis starting movie tariff negotiations with one of Trump’s Ambassadors to Hollywood, Megalopolis cast member Jon Voight?
Photos credit: Avalon.red, Cover Images