Sunday, October 6, 2024

Coppola’s “Megalopolis” Bombs at Box Office, But “Godfather” Director’s Legacy Intact

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As expected, Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis” imploded over the weekend. Total take from four days: just $4 million.

Okay? Now we’ve got that out of our system.

The biggest mistake in hindsight was that screening last spring in Los Angeles. It was all movie stars and A list friends of Coppola, and one press person, Mike Fleming of Deadline.

If they were trying to limit damage by just having Fleming it doesn’t make sense. Were they going to somehow prevent the rest of the audience from talking about it? And this was done before there was a distributor or a real invitation to Cannes.

The results were catastrophic. The movie went to Cannes with so much bad buzz it never could survive. The only thing the producers could have done was a few small private showings to distributors, find one, and then launch with no advance press.

But Coppola is taking a career victory lap. I know he wanted the adrenaline rush of Cannes, Venice, the world spotlight. Even if he had to pay for it himself.

So this is over. Coppola loses all the money. Big deal. In December he gets the Kennedy Center honor for making some of the greatest movies of all time. He deserves a standing ovation. Both “Godfather” movies, “Apocalypse Now,” “The Conversation,” not to mention “Gardens of Stone” and the very sweet “Peggy Sue Got Married.” His achievements have been monumental. That’s what we’re celebrating.

Farewell “Megalopolis,” architect of its own demise.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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