Coppola Isn’t Done: ‘Megalopolis’ Is Getting Recut, and the Director Promises It’s Going to Be Even Weirder

A year ago, Francis Ford Coppola, the legendary director behind classics like “The Godfather” and “Apocalypse Now,” released his sci-fi epic “Megalopolis.”

The film, which tells the story of a visionary architect fighting a corrupt politician to rebuild a city after a disaster, didn’t get the warm welcome Coppola hoped for. Despite spending $120 million of his own money, the movie struggled to find an audience.

Coppola premiered “Megalopolis” at Cannes, hoping for a big success, but the reaction was mostly confusion. Lionsgate later picked up the film and released it in theaters in May 2025, where it ran for 138 minutes.

Unfortunately, it only made about $7 million. After that, Lionsgate pulled the film from theaters, gave the rights back to Coppola, and no streaming or Blu-ray releases followed. The movie can’t even be rented on Amazon anymore, with the listing showing “rights expired.”

But Coppola isn’t giving up. At 85 years old, he is now taking “Megalopolis” on the road with a unique tour. Partnering with Live Nation, he’s booking theaters across the U.S. to screen the movie as a special event.

These showings include Q&A sessions with Coppola and even live music. The first stop was in New Jersey, where Coppola spoke for over an hour about many topics. During this event, he revealed he’s not finished with the film and wants to make it “weirder.”

Coppola plans to restore some dream sequences that were cut from the final version. He said, “It was [originally] more weird. I own the picture, I can do anything I want with it.” It’s not clear yet if the new version will be shown during the tour.

Surprisingly, the tour has been a hit. Most shows are sold out, with only a few tickets left for upcoming stops in Denver, Dallas, and San Francisco. What was once a movie many mocked is now becoming a must-see event for fans of cinema and curious viewers alike.

“Megalopolis” is a 2024 science fiction drama written, directed, and produced by Coppola. It features a large cast including Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, and Dustin Hoffman.

The story is set in an alternate 21st-century New York City, renamed “New Rome.” It follows architect Cesar Catilina (played by Driver) as he battles Mayor Franklyn Cicero (Esposito), who opposes his vision of a futuristic utopia called “Megalopolis.” The film draws inspiration from Roman history, especially the Catilinarian conspiracy from 63 BC.

Coppola had the idea for this film as early as 1977, wanting to compare the fall of the Roman Republic to the future of the United States. Though he started planning the project in 1983, it took decades to get made.

Attempts in 1989 and 2001 failed because studios wouldn’t finance it. Coppola, tired of the studio system, finally made the film after making a fortune from his winemaking business.

Filming took place in Georgia between late 2022 and early 2023. Despite the star-studded cast and Coppola’s name, “Megalopolis” didn’t do well financially. It earned $14.3 million worldwide but lost over $75 million when all costs were counted.

The movie opened alongside the animated film “The Wild Robot” and was expected to make $4 to $8 million in its first weekend. However, it faced challenges like mixed reviews, Coppola’s recent less successful films, and controversy over misconduct allegations and a pulled trailer that used fake quotes.

On Rotten Tomatoes, only 45% of critics gave the film positive reviews, with the average score just under 5 out of 10. The site summed it up by calling it “more of a creative manifesto than a cogent narrative feature.” Metacritic gave it a score of 55 out of 100, meaning reviews were mixed. Audience reactions were even less positive, with a CinemaScore grade of “D+” and only 45% of viewers rating it positively in PostTrak surveys.

Despite all this, Coppola is still passionate about his work and eager to give “Megalopolis” a new life. The current tour shows that even after a rocky start, there’s still interest in his vision, especially when he’s adding more weirdness to the mix.

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