Francis Ford Coppolahas directed some of the best movies in cinematic history, and while that’s brought him financial success at times, his lowest-grossing movies standings have changed withMegalopolis.The Godfatherhelped establish Coppola as one of Hollywood’s biggest talents behind the camera, and the mob crime movie proved he also had plenty of pull with audiences at the cinema.The Godfather’s $243 million box office haul suggested that he’d have plenty of other major financial hits, but with his proclivity for risky projects, big budgets, and clashing with studios, that rarely happened after 1974.
Coppola still managed to deliver a hit inBram Stoker’s Draculain 1992, as it is the only other of his movies to make over $200 million worldwide. None of the otherFrancis Ford Coppola moviesmade over $100 million (viaThe Numbers). The reality is that the director has had more big swings and misses at the box office, with some making a minimal amount of money overall and even struggling to get theatrical releases at times.Megalopolisis another example of those struggles, as it has a spot amongst Coppola’s lowest-grossing movies at the box office.
In 1988, Coppola teamed up with Jeff Bridges forTucker: The Man and His Dreamto bring Preston Tucker’s true story to life in a comedy/drama biopic. The film had troubled development before George Lucas joined and helped steer it towards completion.Tucker: The Man and His Dream’s reviews pinpointed it as a strong outing from Coppola and Bridges, earning it an 81% on Rotten Tomatoes nowadays.
10 Times Legendary Movie Directors Made Huge Box Office Bombs, From Francis Ford Coppola To Steven Spielberg
Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis has proven that not even the most legendary filmmakers in the world are immune to the occasional box office bomb.
However,Tucker: The Man and His Dreamsonly made $19.6 million during its theatrical run. This was after making only $3.7 million in its opening weekend across 720 theaters. With a reported budget of only $24 million, the movie did not have lofty box office heights it needed to hit.Tucker: The Man and His Dreamstill failed to make its budget back or turn a profit, making it one of Coppola’s lowest-grossing movies decades later.
Finian’s Rainbowwas the third movie Coppola directed, and only the second to come with a major studio’s backing. Despite the negative review score on Rotten Tomatoes of 53% now, the musical starring Fred Astaire achieved great success after its release - including two Oscar nominations and five Golden Globe nominations. While Warner Bros. was involved with the film’s theatrical release, it did not have a huge push, and it struggled to find an audience as a result.
The final box office total forFinian’s Rainbowis only $11.6 million. This total came entirely from the film’s domestic release. The performance was likely not what WB or Coppola hoped for the fantasy musical, but the budget is believed to have been quite low, which meansFinian’s Rainbowmay have still turned a profit for the studio and the director at the end of the day.
Megalopolis' final box office numbers might not be official, but the film is assured to retain a spot as one of Francis Ford Coppola’s lowest-grossing movies. Despite the director paying around $150 million overall to get the film made, marketed, and released, the movie was always a passion project for him more than a chance to rediscover success at the box office. That possibility, however unlikely, became even more difficult once reviews dropped. Not even the polarizing nature of its 46% score on Rotten Tomatoes could drive enough interest.
How Much Money Francis Ford Coppola Spent To Make Megalopolis
Francis Ford Coppola famously self-financed the production of his ambitious sci-fi epic Megalopolis – but how much of his own money did he spend?
As it currently stands,Megalopolishas made $10.2 million at the box officeworldwide (viaBox Office Mojo).Megalopolis' opening weekend box officeonly made $4 million, and there has been limited interest internationally throughout its run. This total is despite it being Coppola’s widest release in decades. With showtimes slowing down and bigger new releases coming,Megalopolis' total could still climb higher. It might ultimately passFinian’s Rainbow, but it needs to make over $25 million not to be one of Coppola’s ten lowest-grossing movies.
Francis Ford Coppola returned to exploring war afterApocalypse NowwithGardens of Stone, but the 1987 film did not muster up the same level of excitement as his 1979 epic. Despite coming on the back of a success inPeggy Sue Got Married($41 million),Gardens of Stonewas only given a limited theatrical release. The movie’s box office prospects were further negatively impacted by the film’s mixed reviews, resulting in its current 44% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Gardens of Stoneonly played in 612 theaters at its widest point of release, and it barely made $1.6 million during its opening weekend as a result. The final tally for the film was $5.2 million, which is substantially below the reported $13.5 million budget (viaAFI). The film was a costly loss for Coppola and the studio, but it would have been even greater if not for the United States Army helping out on the production.
The Conversationis certainly one of Francis Ford Coppola’s best movies, but it’s also, unfortunately, one of his worst performing at the box office.The film’s performance is surprising, considering it was Coppola’s first movie afterThe Godfatherand starred Gene Hackman. It also had stellar reviews to urge audiences to see the film in theaters, with it currently having a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, so a stronger box office performance thanThe Conversation’s $4.4 million gross during its initial release would have been expected.
While the current box office total sits at $4.7 million,The Conversationplayed in theaters for months and could not find a bigger audience likeThe Godfatherhad two years prior. The good news for Coppola is that it still managed to be a box office success story because it only cost $1.6 million to make.It has made nearly three times its budgetthen, and its cinematic legacy is far greater than the sub-$5 million total would imply.
Tetrois among the lowest-grossing movies Francis Ford Coppola has ever directed. Released in 2009, it only managed to make $518K at the domestic box office during a limited release from Coppola’s distribution company. Its standing in this list is only improved thanks to the $2.3 million it made internationally. That helps it climb up to a box office total of nearly $2.9 million.
However,Tetrois still a financial disappointment for Coppola. Production took place almost entirely in Argentina and reportedly cost $5 million to make. The film’s box office is barely more than half of the reported budget then. Since it never played in more than 15 theaters on any given day domestically, the box office performance ofTetrowas always going to be challenging.
Youth Without Youthmight seem like one of Coppola’s biggest misfires of his career when examined on paper. It received poor reviews, as noted by its 33% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and it only made $2.6 million (according toBox Office Mojo). It did not even manage to make $300,000 domestically during its release, with the majority of its ticket sales coming internationally. And while that does mean it has a place near the bottom of Coppola’s lowest-grossing movies, that isn’t the whole story.
Miraculously,Youth Without Youthmanaged to make more at the box office than it cost Coppola to make it. He toldRolling Stonein 2024 that he made the movie for less than $1 million. With Sony barely bothering to give the film a domestic release at all - the most theaters it had on a single day of release was 18 - there should not be much of any marketing costs that would elevate the budget substantially.
Francis Ford Coppola consistently struggled to follow up his hits over the years, andRumble Fishis no exception. His second movie of 1983 came out months afterThe Outsidersand retained stars like Matt Dillon and Diane Lane. Even thoughRumble Fishearned strong reviews, it could not matchThe Outsiders' path to success as it made $25 million.
The reality is thatRumble Fishonly made $2.5 million at the box office during its run. That’s a tenth of whatThe Outsidersmade the same year, even though they both reportedly cost the same: $10 million.Rumble Fishgoes down as a rather notable box office flop in addition to being one of Coppola’s lowest-grossing movies.
Twixtis a rather important movie in Coppola’s filmography, as it marked his last directorial effort for over a decade. It also did not have a traditional theatrical release, as it was not distributed domestically at all, only playing at select film festivals and a few international territories. That substantially hindered the movie’s box office chances, which may not have been great anyway with its poor reviews - 33% on Rotten Tomatoes - and Coppola going years without a major hit at this stage.
Still,Twixtis only reported to have made around $1.3 million during its limited release. That is well below the film’s reported budget of $7 million. The financial performance ofFrancis Ford Coppola’s horror movieotherwise completely relies upon 20th Century Fox’s release on Blu-Ray and DVD.
One From The Heartis an infamous box office story for Francis Ford Coppola. As the second-lowest-grossing movie of his career, it made either $716K or just over $1 million, depending on the box office source. In either case, the movie proved to be a sizable failure for Coppola as the romantic musical earned negative reviews, as indicated by its 51% on Rotten Tomatoes. This is becauseOne From The Heartreportedly cost between $23 million and $26 million to make.
Originally,One From The Hearthad a budget of $15 million, with Coppola receiving a record $2 million to direct from MGM. His vision for the film evolved as development continued, leading to him buying the rights through Zoetrope Studios so the budget could grow. Bad test screenings and some defiant moves byFrancis Ford Coppolacaused Paramount to back out of distributing the film domestically. His bet onOne From The Heartcaused massive financial problems for him going forward.
