Oscar Winner’s Most Notorious Flop Is Making a Surprise Comeback

Francis Ford Coppola is not done with Megalopolis. After the wild 2024 rollout and a very public thud at the box office, he’s giving his passion project another theatrical shot — on a holiday, no less.

The plan

Megalopolis is coming back to theaters on January 1, 2026, in partnership with select Alamo Drafthouse locations. Each screening includes a special prerecorded Coppola Q&A. He announced it on Instagram and pitched it as something he hopes becomes a tradition.

"Megalopolis will be shown this New Year’s Day in select theaters around the country. It’s my hope that every New Year’s Day Megalopolis will become a fulcrum of discussion about the betterment of society and humanity."

Alamo’s site lists screenings in cities like Brooklyn, Austin, Chicago, Los Angeles, and more. If you’re curious, check their listings to see if it’s playing near you.

What the movie actually is

It’s a sprawling sci-fi drama set in a place called New Rome, where an idealist architect clashes with the city’s old-guard leadership over what the future should look like. Think: utopian dreams vs. entrenched power.

• Stars: Adam Driver plays visionary builder Cesar Catilina, and Giancarlo Esposito is Mayor Franklin Cicero, the guy guarding the status quo. The ensemble also includes Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Kathryn Hunter, and Dustin Hoffman.
• Who made it: Written and directed by Oscar-winner Coppola — his first feature since 2011’s Twixt — and long described by him as his dream project.
• The money part: No studio bankroll here. Coppola financed it himself to the tune of about $120 million.
• How the first release went: Lionsgate put it out in September 2024. It opened to $4 million, and has made $14.4 million to date. By most counts, Coppola personally lost over $100 million.
• Where to stream: You can’t, at least not on any major US streaming service right now.
• The 2026 twist: The New Year’s Day rerelease comes with a prerecorded Coppola Q&A and the hope it sparks an annual conversation about where society’s headed. Ambitious? Absolutely.

So why do this?

Because it’s Coppola. The guy mortgaged vineyards to chase a film he’s been trying to make for decades, then released it wide, ate a massive loss, and now wants to turn it into a yearly conversation-starter. It’s stubborn, a little romantic, and completely on brand for an artist who still swings for the fences.