Francis Ford Coppola's $120-million 'Megalopolis' bombed at the box office

Big studios won't touch “Megalopolis,” Oscar-winner Francis Ford Coppola's ambitious passion project. Now it is clear why.

The $120-million film, which Coppola financed with his own money, is on track for a disastrous $4 million in ticket sales from the U.S. and Canada this weekend, according to industry estimates, making it an epic flop for the legendary director of the “Godfather” trilogy. , “Apocalypse Now” and “The Conversation.”

2 hours The 18-minute epic, a retelling of Roman history through a satirical science fiction lens, has been an obsession of Coppola's for decades. He shouldered the financial risk himself, taking over the production budget and marketing and distribution costs, selling off parts of his wine business to make it happen.

Coppola, 85, previously proved doubters wrong, pouring millions into the tumultuous production of “Apocalypse Now,” which was eventually nominated for a best picture Oscar and grossed more than $100 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.

“Megalopolis” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May to lingering acclaim but mixed reviews, with some praising the scope and ambition and others calling it a confusing mess. Joshua Rothkopf of The Times compared his story to Tom Wolfe's “The Bonfire of the Vanities,” “a funhouse portrait of a New York City dominated by money, power and race.”

The movie has a stacked cast, starring Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight and Laurence Fishburne.

But moviegoers who saw “Megalopolis” rejected it, with a devastating “D+” rating from audience polling firm CinemaScore.

Lionsgate is distributing the movie for a fee, but bearing none of the financial risk (that's Coppola). Still, the Santa Monica studio suffered a publicity campaign headache when it released a trailer that included fake quotes from real critics questioning some of Coppola's past classic films. Lionsgate apologized and pulled the trailer.

In addition to “Megalopolis,” Lionsgate has produced several bombs this year, including “Borderland” and “The Crow.”

“Francis Ford Coppola is one of the world's greatest filmmakers and a cherished member of our creative family We are proud to partner with him to give 'Megalopolis' the wide theatrical release it deserves,” said Adam Fogelson, chairman of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, in an emailed statement. “Like all true art, it will be seen and judged by moviegoers over time.”

Universal and DreamWorks Animation's “The Wild Robot” won the weekend, topping pre-release expectations, debuting with $35 million domestically.

The wildly acclaimed animated movie, based on Peter Brown's children's book of the same name, is off to a solid start thanks to its $78-million production budget and an “A” CinemaScore and strong buzz indicating 98% “fresh” status on Rotten Tomatoes.

In second place was the hit Warner Bros. legacy sequel “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” which earned $16 million for a Friday-Sunday domestic total of $250 million.