Budget: $120 million [source]
Opening weekend gross: $4 million
Factoring in marketing costs and the theaters taking their cut of the profits, Megalopolis would need to make at least $300 million to break even. I think it’s safe to say that’s not happening.
It would have been THE worst opening for a $100 million movie ever, had it not been for Pluto Nash’s horriffic opening 22 years ago.
Even The New York Times is reporting near-empty screenings of Megalopolis!
It’s bad. It’s bad and we’ve been knowing this for months, as it premiered in some festival.
It’s so bad no distributors wanted any piece of the cake (because the necessary costs are astronomical).
AFAIK, the movie received a 10-minute standing ovation at Cannes. It is an art film first and foremost, and probably not for the general audience that flocks to the same old, boring formulaic movies a la Marvel & co.
A 10-minute ovation is not a notable statistic at Cannes. The Beaver got a 10-minute ovation. I dare anyone to remember even one thing about The Beaver without looking it up.
Every movie at Cannes gets a ten minute standing ovation. That’s normal.
I’m excited to see this though. But I’m not going to go to the theatre for it.