Francis Ford Coppola has explained the impact Megalopolis is having on his next movie. Self-financed by the five-time Oscar winner, the 2024 sci-fi thriller is the director’s pᴀssion project, retelling the Catilinarian conspiracy in an alternate New York and drawing parallels between the fall of the Roman Republic and the future of the United States.

The movie has a stellar cast, featuring Adam Driver as Cesar, a genius architect, Nathalie Emmanuel as Julia Cicero, Aubrey Plaza as Wow Platinum, and Giancarlo Esposito as Franklyn Cicero. But despite being fueled by star power, it struggled to find a distributor to cover the production costs and marketing. Marred by controversy, Megalopolis polarized critics and grossed only $14.3 million against a mᴀssive $120 million budget.

During an interview with ᴅᴇᴀᴅline, Coppola talked about how his last movie got him in a bit of trouble financially. The filmmaker revealed that he had already finished the script for a modestly budgeted musical тιтled Glimpses of the Moon, adapted from an Edith Wharton novel, but is having trouble financing it after his 2024 movie’s failure coincided with the change in the wine industry.

Check out Coppola’s full breakdown of his financial situation after Megalopolis below:

Well, the thing is, I used my last hundred million dollars. I know it sounds funny, but usually people who do things like this have a billion dollars. This was my last … well it was $120 million, more than intended. Financially, it’s a little complicated. Basically what you have to realize is that I had a number of wine companies, one of them, the one that was the cash cow was called Francis Coppola Winery.

That usually produced the money for everything, but I had no one to run it, and that was strong on my mind. My kids are all film directors. So there was this company we had been doing business with for years, an Italian company called Delicato. I knew them and got along with them. The wine business was changing, and it was becoming much more that you had to be bigger because of the post-Prohibition rule that made it a three-tier industry, where you can only make it or you can distribute it or you can retail it.

The wine distribution was where the money was, and it got bigger and bigger and bigger. So it kept consolidating until there were only two or three huge billion[-dollar] companies distributing everybody’s wine. So when that happened, that company that I’m talking about was about the 12th or 13th largest wine company in America. You had to be that big or you were out of the business because the distributor was only interested in billions of dollars.

They weren’t interested in you if you were only talking a mere few hundred million. So there started to be a lot of consolidation, and this company wanted to buy my company because they had management. I didn’t have the management. So I was absorbed by the Delicato company, and I ended it up with 26%. When I made Megalopolis, that 26% of that company, which was worth upwards of a half a billion dollars, I was the collateral.

What This Means For Francis Ford Coppola’s New Project

Glimpses Of The Moon Might Have To Wait

Coppola isn’t done with Megalopolis just yet. While he’s sorting out the finances for his new project, the director has gone on a multi-city cinematic roadshow to promote his 2024 box office flop and generate some funds. Having teamed up with Live Nation, the live show features a screening of the movie, a Q&A session with the director, and even live music.

In the same interview, Coppola shared that he didn’t plan on continuing the tour past the scheduled six days but rather hoped that this would generate enough interest for some to make the movie a midnight offering. Megalopolis may have disappointed at the box office in 2024, but several dates of the roadshow are sold out.

Having declined a streaming deal with Lionsgate, the director stressed that Megalopolis is exclusive in theaters. Known for his risk-taking nature, Coppola has battled bankruptcy several times. While he’s not really in serious trouble financially, it means that certain things need to happen before Glimpses of the Moon can solidify.

Our Take On Megalopolis’ Box Office Flop

Megalopolis Might Perform Much Better In 2025

Looking back on what happened with Megalopolis, the director clarified that, despite reports, the movie received a long ovation at Cannes and glowing reviews from reputable publications such as The New York Times. With most of his films having a track record of being long-lasting, Coppola isn’t too worried about the 2024 sci-fi thriller.

Having been hit by allegations in the press, which prompted the director to file a lawsuit against Variety, Coppola suspected deliberate sabotage back when the movie was first released. While Megalopolis might not be the kind of entertainment moviegoers went to theaters for in 2024, it could potentially connect better with the audience after the last election.

Source: ᴅᴇᴀᴅline