Megalopolis, a movie from a legendary director with a buzzy cast, is reportedly having trouble finding a home

Francis Ford Coppola sold his winery and self-funded his decades-in-the-making dream epic Megalopolis because nobody else wanted to make it. So is it a big surprise that nobody wants to distribute it, either? The industry has become notoriously skittish about taking a risk on big swing original projects (which is why he had to self-fund in the first place). That would be true even if the project were a clear-cut crowd-pleaser, but early Megalopolis reactions have been mixed to the extreme. Yet one would think that a big movie from a groundbreaking auteur with an A-list cast (that includes Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Aubrey Plaza, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Dustin Hoffman, and more) would have an easier time finding a home.

Coppola certainly thought so, according to one source for The Hollywood Reporter, who said the director “assumed he would make a deal very quickly” with a studio that “would happily commit” to a P&A (print and advertising) marketing campaign “in the vicinity of $40 million domestically, and $80 million to $100 million globally.” But Universal (and its subsidiary Focus Features) have already bowed out, according to THR, and other industry insiders sound skeptical, with one distributor telling the outlet, “There is just no way to position this movie.”

That may be in part because of the polarized reactions to the film. The praise was lavish: “Coppola’s new film is crackling with ideas that fuse the past with the future, with an epic and highly visual fable that plays perfectly on an IMAX screen,” Deadline proclaimed. “He covers complex themes in a remarkably brief two hours and 13 minutes, not including credits.” Oscar-nominated filmmaker Gregory Nava told IndieWire he felt he was “a part of history” just screening the movie, calling it “a brilliant, visionary masterpiece.” He raved that “Francis has taken cinema to a whole different level—the whole experience was profoundly moving. I still can’t stop thinking about the film and telling everyone I know–they all can’t wait to see it! It will blow people’s minds.”

But some people’s minds were blown in the derogatory sense–sources told Puck News that it was “baffling” and “batshit crazy.” And an anonymous “studio head” told The Hollywood Reporter, “It’s so not good, and it was so sad watching it. Anybody who puts P&A behind it, you’re going to lose money. This is not how Coppola should end his directing career.”

Truthfully, it seems like the narrative around Megalopolis—the movie that’s too crazy for any studio!—could work as a marketing tactic in and of itself. Cinema fans tuned into Coppola’s uphill battle to get the film made are already eager to see what all the fuss is about. Even if reactions are divisive, the on- and off-screen spectacle might be enough to put butts in seats. But those involved with the movie insist that it’s a film for everybody. Barry Hirsch, Coppola’s longtime lawyer and one of the movie’s producers, told IndieWire that “Megalopolis is no different than” Apocalypse Now or The Godfather movies “in term of appeal.” And star Adam Driver previously stated that the film is “one of the most exciting things that I’ve ever been a part of.” He shared, “It’s one of the best shooting experiences I’ve had. And the things that he’s made, there’s no frame of reference for it. It’s so unique and inventive and hopefully accessible by everyone. That it’s not so elusive that it’s for a certain audience, it’s for everyone. And he is everything that you hope he will be.”

The Megalopolis team is considering a festival opening, but Coppola reportedly wants a distributor before making that decision. According to IndieWire, he also unsurprisingly wants “a theatrical deal with a lengthy window, IMAX preferred.” But he may need to put up more of his own money for the marketing if he wants to get a studio on board. “We need to be as creative in the dealmaking as Francis was making this movie,” Hirsch told IndieWire about securing a distributor. “People have told me that the movie is unlike anything they’ve ever seen before, and maybe that’s where the dealmaking will need to be.”