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Summary
Francis Ford Coppola’sMegalopolisis taking an ambitious approach in its marketing. The upcoming science-fiction drama film has been a long-gestating passion project for Coppola, who began developing ideas for it as early as the late 1970s when making his iconic filmApocalypse Now. Decades later,Megalopolisfaced many struggles, but it finally became a reality, with Coppola even selling part of his winery business to self-finance it.
After premiering at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival,Megalopolis' reviews were strongly divided, with early reactions proving to be even more polarizing than for many of Coppola’s other works. Coppola also struggled to find a distributor for the film, before Lionsgate boarded the project and agreed to the filmmaker’s desires for an extensive marketing campaign and IMAX release. Now, it is in Lionsgate’s interest to get people to theaters to see the movie, and thesecondMegalopolistrailerutilized a marketing strategy to get people to see a movie that already has some bad reviews.
Megalopolis Looks Like Francis Ford Coppola Finally Made A Star Wars Movie
Francis Ford Coppola’s ambitious new sci-fi epic Megalopolis looks like George Lucas' old producing partner has finally made a Star Wars movie.
Reviews From The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, & Bram Stoker’s Dracula Are Featured
The nowpulledMegalopolistraileropens with Laurence Fishburne, who is the film’s narrator, declaring,“True genius is often misunderstood,“followed by negative excerpts seemingly taken from reviews of Coppola’s past celebrated films, includingThe Godfather,Apocalypse Now, andBram Stoker’s Dracula. From reviews that calledThe Godfather “a sloppy, self-indulgent movie"to decryingApocalypse Nowas"pretentious"and"an epic piece of trash,“the excerpts suggest that Coppola’s previous works were not initially well-received, although this is accomplished with fake review quotes. The trailer further emphasizes this with Fishburne stating,“One filmmaker has always been ahead of his time.”
This bold approach ties in well withMegalopolisnot only because of Coppola’s career, but becauseMegalopolis' story is abouta visionary architect, Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver), who wants to rebuild the city of New Rome into a utopian megalopolis. Just as Coppola faces criticism that misunderstands his work, Cesar’s vision faces criticism and is attempted to be stopped by Mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito) and other characters. Cesar emphasizes that there are more possibilities for civilization than the ones that currently exist, suggesting the boundaries be pushed as Coppola has pushed them throughout his career.
UPDATE: 2025-07-04 10:13 EST BY COOPER HOOD
Lionsgate Pulls Megalopolis Trailer After Fake Review Quotes
Lionsgate pulled theMegalopolistrailer from the internet. In a statement shared withScreen Rant’sRob Keyes, a Lionsgate spokesperson said:
Lionsgate is immediately recalling our trailer for Megalopolis. We offer our sincere apologies to the critics involved and to Francis Ford Coppola and American Zoetrope for this inexcusable error in our vetting process. We screwed up. We are sorry.
Megalopolis' Trailer Leaning Into The Film’s Mixed Early Reviews Is Genius
The Mixed Reviews Are Used As A Selling Point For Megalopolis
Receiving overwhelmingly negative or divisive reviews can hurt a film before it even releases in theaters.Megalopolisattempted to get ahead of this by highlighting a history of negative critical reception to some of Coppola’s best works and making it clear that a strong creative vision will endure more than early critical responses. But doing so with fake reviews attributed to real critics went a step too far.The Godfather,Apocalypse Now, andDraculahave all become cinematic classics, and are often revered as all-time great films.
Megalopolis' future reviews will likely continue to be divisive, but Coppola is using this to his advantage, proving that it is nothing new, even for his best works, and that it is a reason to see his latest project.
Megalopolis' trailer encourages audiences to see it, regardless of what the critics say.Explicitly connectingMegalopolisto Coppola’s beloved films is clever, as the enduring love for them, particularly forThe Godfather, can help generate more interest in the science-fiction film.Megalopolis' future reviews will likely continue to be divisive, but Coppola is using this to his advantage, proving that it is nothing new, even for his best works, and that it is a reason to see his latest project.
WhileThe Godfather,Apocalypse Now, andDraculadid receive some negative reviews, they were ultimately well-regarded, and have overwhelmingly positive reputations among critics and general audiences. Their Rotten Tomatoes scores speak for themselves, especially forThe Godfather, which boasts an impressive 97% critical score and 98% audience score.Megalopolis, on the other hand, already seems like it will be far more divisive as indicated by early reviews and various studios' unwillingness to distribute the film despite its star-studded cast and the legendary writer-director behind it.
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Megalopoliswill need to find a way to overcome its reviews that are poised to be more negative than the previous Coppola films highlighted in the new trailer.Reviews and critical reception have always mattered, but they are arguably even more impactful in 2024 than they were in the 1970s and 1990s, given how Rotten Tomatoes scores and overall reception can define online discourse and a film’s reputation.Megalopoliswill need to find additional ways to become a hit despite its negative reviews and avoid further controversy.
Megalopolis
Cast
Megalopolis, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, is a visionary 2024 film exploring the ambitious dream of reconstructing New York City into a utopia, following a devastating disaster. The narrative delves into the clash between the architect’s utopian vision and the political and personal turmoil that ensues. With a star-studded cast, the film examines themes of ambition, power, and the human spirit’s resilience against the backdrop of a futuristic metropolis.
