Following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival this year, Francis Ford Coppola‘s ‘Megalopolis‘ has been surrounded by a lot of negative reports, and Coppola himself was afraid that studios were not gonna buy it. But now, IndieWire has confirmed that the film sold to Lionsgate and will be released in the U.S. and Canada in theaters and IMAX.
When Will ‘Megalopolis’ Hit Theaters?
‘Megalopolis’ is scheduled to hit theaters in the United States on September 27, 2024, also in IMAX, by Lionsgate.
In a statement, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chair Adam Fogelson said, “Francis is a legend. For many of us, his gifts to cinema were one of the inspirations to devote our own careers to film.” Fogelson added, “It is a true privilege to work with him, and to bring this incredible, audacious, and utterly unique movie to theatrical audiences. At Lionsgate, we strive to be a home for bold and daring artists, and ‘Megalopolis’ proves there is no one more bold or daring than the maestro, Francis Ford Coppola.”
The film is written and directed by Coppola, who also serves as a producer alongside Michael Bederman. The film is being praised as Ford Coppola’s ‘best film yet.’ Developed over 40 years, Coppola has invested $120M of his own money into the project.
The film follows the destruction of a metropolis which brings clashing visions of the future. An architectural idealist (Adam Driver) and the Mayor (Giancarlo Esposito) debate on whether to embrace the future & build a utopia or take a business-as-usual rebuild strategy, replete with corruption and power brokering. In between their struggle is the mayor’s socialite daughter Julia (Nathalie Emmanuel), a restless young woman who grew up around power and is looking for meaning in her life. (Watch the trailer)
During the press conference at Cannes, Ford Coppola stated he has no regrets about spending $120 million of his own money to finance Megalopolis. He said, “There are so many people who, when they die, say, ‘I wish I had done that.’ When I die, I’ll say, ‘I got to do that.’”
‘Megalopolis’ stars Driver as Caesar, Forest Whitaker, Emmanuel, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Aubrey Plaza, Jason Schwartzman, Shia LaBeouf, Talia Shire, Grace VanderWaal, Kathryn Hunter, James Remar, Chloe Fineman, Madeleine Gardella, and Isabelle Kusman.
Coppola’s producer and longtime lawyer, 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.
Additionally, through separate deals, the film previously secured distribution in the UK (Entertainment Film Distributors Limited), France (Le Pacte), Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (Constantin Film), Italy (Eagle Pictures), Spain (Tripictures), Australia (Madman Entertainment), Benelux (September Films), Bulgaria (Profilm), the Czech Republic and Slovakia (Film Europe), Ex-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 and in negotiations with the rest of Asia.
Source: IndieWire
