Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis Is an Opening Weekend Box-Office Bomb

Francis Ford Coppola’s ambitious and divisive new film Megalopolis fell short of its already low box office target, netting only $4 million its opening weekend after receiving mixed reviews from critics and audiences. The Wild Robot, a DreamWorks animated feature starring Lupita Nyong’o and Pedro Pascal, dominated the opening weekend, raking in an estimated $35 million at the domestic box office. Megalopolis is looking to finish sixth, behind multiple films that have been in theaters for weeks and Devara Part 1, a Telugu-language film from India that still earned an estimated $5.6 million its opening weekend in the U.S. However, Coppola, 85, has not seemed worried about the film’s financial performance. “Everyone’s so worried about money,” the director told the Associated Press before opening weekend. “I say: Give me less money and give me more friends.” Coppola has reportedly been refining the idea for the Megalopolis for decades, and put up $120 million of his own money to self-finance the production—even selling part of his namesake winery in 2021 to raise money for the project. Megalopolis debuted at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this Summer, where it also received mixed reception.