Breaking! Lionsgate Bags Distribution Rights to Coppola’s Risky Epic ‘Megalopolis’

Lionsgate has confirmed on Monday that it has secured the distribution rights for Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis” in the U.S. and Canada. This announcement brings an end to the widespread speculation about which film studio would take on the task of distributing the acclaimed director’s ambitious project. The movie is set to be released in domestic cinemas, including Imax, on September 27.

“Megalopolis” marks the first new film by the recipient of five Academy Awards since “Twixt” in 2011. Reports suggest that Coppola has poured approximately $120 million of his personal funds, procured from selling a portion of his wine business, into producing this grand narrative.

The film boasts a star-studded cast featuring Adam Driver, Aubrey Plaza, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Talia Shire, Jason Schwartzman, Chloe Fineman, Jon Voight, Shia LaBeouf, and Laurence Fishburne. It is a sprawling tale depicting power dynamics set in a reimagined New York that mirrors New Rome.

The film made its debut last month at the Cannes Film Festival, where The Times’ Joshua Rothkopf noted that if “Megalopolis” turns out to be the final work from the 85-year-old director of “The Godfather”, then “he wraps up his career not with a polished, restrained piece but with a brimming, dynamic, and intense narrative about the genesis of fascism that only a severe critic would label a disaster.”

“It could be the most groundbreaking film he has ever made,” Rothkopf added.

Lionsgate has maintained a longstanding partnership with Coppola and his production company, American Zoetrope, having previously managed the home entertainment releases of his films such as “Apocalypse Now Final Cut,” “The Conversation,” “The Cotton Club Encore,” “Tucker: The Man and His Dream,” and “One From the Heart: Reprise.”

At the film’s Cannes press conference, Coppola commented on the audacious, unique style of “Megalopolis” by saying, “I was aware that the film was different from other movies out there. It’s how I felt the film should be, and since I was the one footing the bill, I believed I had the right [to do it my way].”