Francis Ford Coppola Faces Struggle For ‘Megalopolis’ Distribution

Famed Godfather filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola is facing difficulties pitching his newest film Megalopolis for further distribution. Despite a warm reception, most studios worry that the film isn’t marketable enough for a $100 million marketing plan.

The film follows the aftermath of the titular city’s collapse and the people struggling to bring it back to its glory days. An architect (Adam Driver) and mayor (Giancarlo Esposito) clash on how to save their city as they fight over ideals and reality. Megalopolis also stars Shia LaBeouf and Jon Voight, the latter of which has become controversial thanks to a sexually charged scene in a bed.

Megalopolis was first shown on March 28th to a select group of studio heads from NBCUniversal to Sony at the Universal CityWalk IMAX theater. Coppola’s friends, family, and actors, including Nicholas Cage and Shia LaBeouf, also attended this major event. According to one THR source, Coppola hoped that one of the bigger studios would pay for his distribution plans,  costing about $40 million domestically and about $100 million globally. Unfortunately, the reactions from the screening spanned from positive to mixed.

One attendee noted “a conspicuous silence at the end of it.” The consensus was that the film was creative and well-made, but they were worried it wouldn’t appeal to a wider audience. A studio head even noted it as “some kind of indie experiment” that would find more success on a streaming service. “I find it hard to believe any distributor would put up cash money and stay in first position to recoup the P&A [prints and advertising] as well as their distribution fee,” one distribution expert noted.

Still, not all hope is lost for this project since people are still intrigued by the film. One label founder gushed about it, calling Megalopolis “a very big film” that “has a real life.” The expert mentioned above even said that Coppola could get more deals if he could “put up the P&A or backstop the spend.“

Though no studios have been eager to pick up the film, Coppola still plans on sharing this film with the rest of the world. On April 9th, Coppola announced that Megalopolis will have its premiere on May 17th at the Cannes Film Festival.