Megalopolis flops at weekend box office as family film The Wild Robot soars to top spot with $35 million
- Megalopolis had a sobering $4 million debut for a movie that Francis Ford Coppola bankrolled himself for $120 million
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Francis Ford Coppola's decades-in-the-making, self-financed epic Megalopolis flopped, while the acclaimed DreamWorks Animation family film The Wild Robot soared to No. 1 at the weekend box office.
The Wild Robot, Chris Sanders' adaptation of Peter Brown's bestseller, outperformed expectations to launch with $35 million in ticket sales in U.S. and Canada theaters, according to studio estimates on Sunday.
The DreamWorks movie was poised to do well after critics raved about the story of a shipwrecked robot who raises an orphan gosling. Audiences agreed, giving the film an 'A' CinemaScore. 'Wild Robot' is likely set up to enjoy a long and lucrative run for its distributor Universal Pictures.
Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore, predicts The Wild Robot 'may take a page from the Elemental playbook by opening to respectable box office and then looking toward long-term playability.'
Pixar's 'Elemental,' which like 'The Wild Robot' wasn't a sequel, debuted with a modest $30 million, but went on to gross nearly $500 million worldwide.
Adam Driver and Nathalie Emmanuel are shown in a still from Francis Ford Coppola 's decades-in-the-making, self-financed epic Megalopolis that flopped at the weekend box office
Family movies, led by the year's biggest hit in 'Inside Out 2,' have particularly powered the box office this year. David A. Gross, a film consultant who publishes a newsletter for Franchise Entertainment, said the genre should reach $6 billion worldwide in 2024 - which, he noted, 'is back to pre-pandemic levels.'
'Megalopolis,' Coppola´s vision of a Roman epic set in modern-day New York, was never expected to perform close to that level. But the film´s $4 million debut was still sobering for a movie that Coppola bankrolled himself for $120 million, even selling a stake in his California vineyard. Following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, critics have been mixed on Coppola´s first film in 13 years. Audiences gave it a 'D+' CinemaScore.
By any financial measure, Megalopolis was a mega-flop. But from the start, the 85-year-old Coppola maintained money wasn't his concern. Coppola fashioned the film, which he first began developing in the late 1970s, as a grand personal statement about human possibility.
'Everyone's so worried about money,' Coppola told The Associated Press in an interview ahead of the film´s release. 'I say: Give me less money and give me more friends.'
Studios passed on 'Megalopolis' after Cannes. Lionsgate ultimately stepped forward to distribute it, for a fee. Coppola also picked up the tab for most of its $15 million in marketing costs. The film, which stars Adam Driver, Nathalie Emmanuel and Aubrey Plaza, also played in about 200 IMAX locations, which accounted for $1.8 million of its ticket sales.
After three weeks atop the box office, Tim Burton´s 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice' slid to second place with $16 million in its fourth weekend of release. The Warner Bros. sequel to the 1988 'Beetlejuice,' starring Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder, has amassed $250 million domestically in a month of release.
Third place went to 'Transformers One,' the Transformers prequel starring Chris Hemsworth and Brian Tyree Henry. After its lower-than expected debut last weekend, the Paramount release collected $9.3 million on its second weekend.
'Megalopolis' was even bested by the Indian Telugu-language action film 'Devara: Part 1.' It grossed $5.1 million in its opening weekend, good enough for fourth place.
Roz, voiced by Oscar-winner Lupita N'Yongo, and Brightbill, voiced by Kit Connor, are shown in a scene from DreamWorks Animation's film The Wild Robot
Lupita is shown earlier this month attend The Wild Robot premiere during the 72nd San Sebastian Film Festival at Teatro Victoria Eugenia in San Sebastian, Spain
Francis Ford Coppola is shown with actor Adam on the set of Megalopolis
Michael Keaton is shown as Beetlejuice as he reprised his role for the 2024 sequel
Also debuting in theaters was Jason Reitman´s 'Saturday Night,' an affectionate dramatization of the sketch-comedy institution on the night it first aired in 1975.
On the same weekend the NBC series began its 50th season, Reitman´s movie launched in five New York and Los Angeles theaters and collected $265,000, good for a strong $53,000 per-theater average. 'Saturday Night' goes nationwide in two weeks.
Transformers One finished in third place as the family-friendly origin story continued finding an audience after a relatively soft opening weekend.
In fourth place, the new Telugu-language movie "Devara Part 1" delivered an action drama film about two brothers who become enemies, filmed in the regional Indian language.
In fifth was Speak No Evil, a new psychological horror film from Blumhouse and Universal Pictures, which took in $4.3 million.
