What Is 'Megalopolis' About? Francis Ford Coppola's Self-Financed Epic And Its Memes Explained

Francis Ford Coppola's self-financed "Roman Epic" film Megalopolis earned just $4 million in its opening weekend in North America, debuting in the sixth spot at the box office. Movie critics are calling the financial flop "one of the worst opening weekends for a big-budget film ever."

Given the movie's bad reviews and financial failure, Megalopolis is also growing an ironic fandom online with the same aspects as 2022's Morbius memes. Here's why.

What Is Megalopolis?

Francis Ford Coppola, the legendary filmmaker responsible for classics like "The Godfather" trilogy and "Apocalypse Now" has been trying to make Megalopolis for more than 40 years, during which the project has gone through innumerable rewrites, delays and false starts.

The film reimagines the fall of Rome through a futuristic American city that reminisces of New York, a decaying metropolis called New Rome, where Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver) butts heads with corrupt Mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito) as he attempts to revamp the city into a sustainable utopia.

Megalopolis also throws some sci-fi and philosophical dilemmas about the fate of humanity, as the controversial trailer below slightly shows the "mood" of the movie. Netizens quickly suspected that the quotes from movie critics were not genuine, and Lionsgate pulled the trailer. It is suspected the fake quotes were generated by ChatGPT.

Why Did Megalopolis Became A Meme Subject?

Memes about the film began making the rounds online soon after the film's release on May 16th, with X user @collateral2004 joking about a segment in the film where a person breaks the fourth wall by speaking to Driver's on-screen character from the movie theater where the film is being screened (below, left).

Also on May 16th, the X account @LeCinephiles posted a Welcome Back meme comparing Megalopolis to Babylon (2022), a film that had also received mixed reviews from critics. (seen below, right).

The disastrous theatrical release of Megalopolis also boosted the memes and jokes about the film. For instance, on September 28th, 2024, X user @cmykjpg posted a remix of Charli XCX's "Club Classics" over a scene featuring Adam Driver (seen below).

X user @NorthernIion_LP compared the digital effects of the movie to the 2001 Spy Kids movie:

For the full history of 'Megalopolis,' be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.