• Francis Ford Coppola spent over $100 million to finance his film Megalopolis.
• However, the film is only expected to gross $5 million to $7 million at the box office on its opening weekend.
• Coppola took out a loan for his wine company to finance the film and other projects.

Francis Ford Coppola famously self-financed his latest epic Megalopolis – but unfortunately the film auteur is unlikely to recoup the millions he invested.

According to Variety, “Megalopolis,” which hit theaters Friday, is currently aiming for a $5 million to $7 million box office debut. Compared to the over $100 million Coppola reportedly spent on the film, that’s shockingly small. (In an interview in 2022, Coppola said he had invested $120 million in the project; on Thursday, the Wall Street Journal, citing an unnamed source involved in the film, reported that it was $136 million were.)

Coppola is best known for films such as “The Godfather,” the 1974 sequel, and Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or winners “The Conversation” and “Apocalypse Now.” “Megalopolis” was a long-running project, a sci-fi epic set in a Roman reimagining of New York City.

The film received extremely mixed reactions from critics. The Wall Street Journal called it a “spectacular disaster.” It was also plagued by bad press and controversy: there were allegations that Coppola behaved inappropriately on set (which Coppola has denied), and distributor Lionsgate pulled a trailer for the film after Vulture reported that it included inaccurate quotes from critics included.

In his new interview with The Wall Street Journal, Coppola explained how he financed the film using his own wine company, Francis Ford Coppola Winery. According to the publication, the filmmaker merged the company with Delicato Family Wines in 2021 in a deal he said was worth $650 million. As part of the deal, he retained the Inglenook property, where the Coppola family home sits, and the original vineyards on which he built the company.

The deal also allowed him to take out a massive $200 million loan against his stake in Delicato. Those millions went to “Megalopolis,” as well as other projects on the Inglewood estate and the Sentinel Building in San Francisco, which he owns.

“I went to the bank and asked, ‘How much can I borrow?'” Coppola told the Wall Street Journal.

Coppola’s son Roman wasn’t surprised by the move, telling the Journal that he found it “exciting” to see his father use the money for something he cares about.

Coppola expressed optimism about the film’s commercial prospects, telling the Journal that he thought the film would have a “very promising beginning” and that “time is on my side.” But even if it fails at the box office, he has a plan that could result in a tax write-off.

“I’m very old, so everything goes into an estate plan,” he said.