“Megalopolis,” the latest film from master Francis Ford Coppola starring Adam Driver, has finally found its home and will be distributed by Lionsgate Studios in the United States and Canada after premiering at the Cannes Film Festival last month, IndieWire can reveal in exclusivity. .
Coppola’s $120 million epic, independently directed and financed by Coppola himself, will hit theaters and also receive an IMAX release, as the IMAX CEO previously pledged to do regardless of the distributor. Lionsgate plans to release the film on September 27, 2024. Lionsgate Studios will also handle the distribution of “Megalopolis” across all home entertainment platforms.
“Megalopolis” is a Roman epic fable set in an imagined modern America. Driver plays Cesar, a genius artist who wants to make the city of New Rome a utopia, all against the wishes of the city’s mayor (Giancarlo Esposito) who prefers the status quo. Torn between them is socialite Julia Cicero (Nathalie Emmanuel), the mayor’s daughter, whose love for Caesar has divided her loyalties, forcing her to discover what she truly believes humanity deserves.
The film also stars Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Talia Shire, Jason Schwartzman, Kathryn Hunter, Grace VanderWaal, Chloe Fineman, James Remar, DB Sweeney and Dustin Hoffman.
Coppola wrote, directed and produced the film. “Megalopolis” is also produced by Fred Roos, Barry Hirsch and Michael Bederman, and executive produced by Anahid Nazarian, Barrie Osborne and Darren Demeter.
“A business rule that I have always followed and favored (to my advantage) is to continue to work with companies and teams that, over time, have proven to be good friends as well as excellent collaborators,” Coppola said in a statement to IndieWire. “That’s why I’m thrilled that Adam Fogelson and Lionsgate Studios are releasing “Megalopolis.” I have no doubt they will apply the same tender love and care to “Apocalypse Now,” which is currently in its 45th year of incredible revenue and appreciation.
“François is a legend. For many of us, his gift for cinema was one of the inspirations to dedicate our own careers to film,” Adam Fogelson, president of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, said in a statement. “He is a true privilege to work with him and bring this incredible, daring and utterly unique film to theatrical audiences At Lionsgate, we strive to be a home for bold and daring artists, and “Megalopolis” proves that. There’s no one more daring or daring than maestro Francis Ford Coppola.
After its first studio screening on March 28, finding a buyer for “Megalopolis” appeared to be an uphill battle, and the film left Cannes without a North American distributor despite a healthy Cannes market, although it secured a number of transactions in the majority of international territories.
Some media outlets called the film “crazy,” and “Megalopolis” grappled with the idea that Coppola hadn’t made a box office hit in three decades. Coppola was also looking for a major deal with a theatrical component and a long window, not necessarily something a deep-pocketed streamer who wouldn’t release it theatrically would be willing to offer.
Coppola’s longtime attorney, Barry Hirsch, previously told IndieWire that the original intention was to secure a distribution deal before its festival premiere. But “Megalopolis” nevertheless screened in competition at Cannes, riding the hype of critics who saw it at its world premiere and a recent teaser showing Driver successfully stopping time.
“We have to be as creative in making the deal as Francis did with this film,” Hirsch said. “People have told me the film is unlike anything they’ve seen before, and maybe that’s where the deal-making will have to be.”
Critical reactions to “Megalopolis” have been mixed (it only has a 59 out of 100 on Metacritic), with some media outlets calling it a flop. But IndieWire was among his biggest admirers, saying in our “Megalopolis” review that Coppola “brings together 85 years of artistic reverence and romantic love into a goofy, garish, transcendently sincere manifesto on the role of an artist to the end of an empire. .”
“Megalopolis” didn’t win the Palme d’Or, or any other prize, but he has already won the top prize at Cannes twice, both for “The Conversation” and “Apocalypse Now.” Some early reactions deemed “Megalopolis” the director’s most ambitious film since his Vietnam War epic.
Coppola insisted that “Megalopolis” was not his last film, which he also described as an “epic” that “won’t come cheap.”
Lionsgate previously partnered with Coppola on the releases of “Apocalypse Now Final Cut,” “The Conversation,” “The Cotton Club Encore,” “Tucker: The Man and His Dream” and “One From the Heart: Reprise.”
Through separate deals, the film previously secured distribution in the United Kingdom (Entertainment Film Distributors Limited), France (Le Pacte), Germany, Austria and Switzerland (Constantin Film), Italy (Eagle Pictures) , in Spain (Tripictures), Australia (Madman Entertainment), Benelux (September Films), Bulgaria (Profilm), Czech Republic and Slovakia (Film Europe), Former Yugoslavia (MCF Megacom Film), Greece (Feelgood Entertainment), Hungary (Mozinet), Israel (Lev Cinemas), Morocco (Facility Event), Portugal (Midas Filmes), Romania (Independenta Film), Scandinavia (Njutafilms) and Turkey (Bir Film). Recently added territories are the Middle East (Cinewaves), Poland (Gutek), Ukraine and the Baltics (Ad Astra), Tunisia (Retinia), Indonesia (Prima Cinema) and the Philippines (Pioneer) . Goodfellas is in advanced negotiations for Latin America and Brazil, as well as the rest of Asia.
Coppola’s producer and longtime attorney, Barry Hirsch of Hirsch Wallerstein Hayum Matlof + Fishman, oversaw the deal on behalf of American Zoetrope. Lauren Bixby and Christopher Davis oversaw the deal for Lionsgate.
Additional reporting by Anne Thompson