Megalopolis Bombs Hard at the Box Office in Its Second Weekend

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As a seasoned moviegoer with over four decades of film-watching under my belt, I must confess that the current state of Francis Ford Coppola’s latest magnum opus, Megalopolis, leaves me somewhat disheartened. The sheer star power and creative prowess behind this project make it a potential masterpiece on paper, but alas, the box office numbers tell a different story.

Regrettably, it appears that Francis Ford Coppola’s movie “Megalopolis” isn’t as entertaining to watch as it is to pronounce, given the film’s second weekend at the box office has been extremely disappointing. Despite boasting a stellar cast featuring the likes of Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Jason Schwartzman, and Kathryn Hunter, and being helmed by the creative genius of writer/director Francis Ford Coppola, the movie has fallen flat with audiences. The film has been met with polarizing and divisive reviews and online reactions, making it a tough sell for many viewers. “Megalopolis” was already facing an uphill battle at the box office following its underwhelming opening, but its second weekend performance was much worse than anticipated.

Despite being financed by Francis Ford Coppola to the tune of approximately $110 million, Megalopolis only managed to earn a paltry $1 million during its second weekend at the box office. Adding this to the $4 million it made in its opening weekend, the film has yet to recoup even 5% of its production costs, and this figure doesn’t take into account the marketing budget, which was partially covered by Coppola and Lionsgate.

Besides posing a significant financial risk for Coppola, who apparently liquidated his vineyard to support his 40-year dream project, Megalopolis‘ poor performance (to put it mildly) could be detrimental to Lionsgate. The studio known for blockbusters such as the John Wick and Hunger Games series is currently grappling with its third box office disappointment of 2024, all happening over a short period. Eli Roth’s Borderlands, based on the video game franchise of the same name, was often criticized as one of the worst movie adaptations in recent memory, and was prematurely removed from cinemas.

A mere few weeks past, Lionsgate unveiled “The Crow,” graced by Bill Skarsgaard and FKA twigs, under the direction of Rupert Sanders. This remake of the 90s cult classic received a flurry of opinions from critics and audiences alike, ultimately being dubbed as an “unnecessary” endeavor. Just like its premature exit from cinemas, I can’t help but speculate that “Megalopolis” might meet a similar fate given its current poor box office performance.

Can Megalopolis Be Saved?

46% (Tomatometer) and 35% (Popcornmeter). Despite Francis Ford Coppola himself giving his film five stars on Letterboxd, other viewers have been less generous. With an average rating of 2.4 stars and a wide variation in reviews, the question remains: can Megalopolis be salvaged?

There remains optimism for the project, as there are two potential outcomes: one possibility is that we are all incorrect about our initial assessments, and in the future, we may come to appreciate Coppola’s masterpiece, “Megalopolis,” and even hail Adam Driver’s line, “Back to the cluuub,” as a literary genius. The other scenario is that “Megalopolis” could gain a cult following, similar to “The Room” or the work of Neil Breen, where it becomes appreciated for its so-bad-it’s-good qualities.

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2024-10-07 17:34