“Megalopolis” Makes $4M on Opening Weekend After Francis Ford Coppola Spent $120M of His Own Money to Make It

Francis Ford Coppolas told reporters at the Cannes Film Festival in May that he "never cared about money" when it came to making 'Megalopolis'

Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis failed to make an impression at the box office.

Megalopolis, an ensemble film that stars Adam Driver, Aubrey Plaza, Laurence Fishburne, Grace VanderWaal, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel and Shia LaBeouf among its cast, made only $4 million at the domestic box office in its opening weekend after opening in 1,854 theaters on Sept. 27, per Box Office Mojo.

That number ranked sixth among all films screening domestically over the weekend. The animated Lupita Nyong'o film The Wild Robot made $35 million in its opening weekend, and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Transformers One, Devara Part 1 and Speak No Evil additionally each brought in more money than Coppola's new film, which Coppola, 85, has been developing on-and-off for decades.

Megalopolis follows a rift between lead character Cesar Catalina (Driver), an architect in the retro-futuristic city of New Rome, and its mayor Franklyn Cicero (Esposito). "Torn between them is socialite Julia Cicero (Emmanuel), the mayor's daughter, whose life for Cesar has divided her loyalties, forcing her discover what she truly believes humanity deserves," an official synopsis for the movie reads; it also describes Megalopolis as a "Roman epic set in an imagined modern America."

Related: Megalopolis Includes an Interactive Portion with the Audience in Select Theaters. Here's What Happens

Though the movie missed at the box office in its opening weekend, filmmaker Coppola is unlikely to begrudge a lack of financial success. When Megalopolis made its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival back in May, Coppola told reporters at a press conference that he "never cared about money" after he was asked about spending an estimated $120 million of his own fortune on the film's budget.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

"I have no problems with the financials — also, another thing, my children, without exception, Sofia, Roman and my granddaughter Gia, they have wonderful careers without a fortune. They don't need a fortune," he said at the time, explaining that he used money gained from purchasing a number of wineries in the 2000s to fund Megalopolis.

Related: Francis Ford Coppola Says the Claim He Was Inappropriate on Megalopolis Set Is ‘Totally Untrue’

"So no matter what happens, aside from the great winery Inglenook which we still own in the family, we're fine," he added at the time. "It doesn't matter ... the money doesn't matter. What's important are friends. Because a friend will never let you down; money may evaporate."

Megalopolis marks the first movie Coppola, a five-time Academy Award winner renowned for his work on films like The Godfather trilogy and Apocalypse Now, has released since 2022's B'Twixt Now and Sunrise. The movie is in theaters now.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.