Francis Ford Coppola’s science fiction epic “Megalopolis”, the director’s own-funded passion project, is heading for a disappointing box office take of five to seven million dollars.

The Lionsgate-released film is expected to open in 1,700 North American theaters on its opening weekend. A single-digit opening would be disappointing for a film that cost over $100 million to produce.

Coppola had a lot of money on “Megalopolis,” as the 85-year-old director of “The Godfather” and “Apocalypse Now” ultimately financed the film himself with $120 million. After the premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, Lionsgate agreed to release and market the film for a distribution fee.

Set in a futuristic America, Megalopolis is about an architect (Adam Driver) who clashes with the corrupt mayor (Giancarlo Esposito) over how to rebuild the metropolis of New Rome after a disaster. Reviews have been extremely controversial (the film has a 50% on Rotten Tomatoes), which may boost interest in the film. Lionsgate tried to play up the discord with a trailer that quoted well-known film critics who initially dismissed Coppola films that later became classics. However, Vulture magazine first reported that these quotes were fabricated or generated by artificial intelligence, prompting Lionsgate to recall the spot.

This weekend’s other new entry, Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s “The Wild Robot,” is expected to open with $24 million to $30 million in its 3,900 theater debut. Rivals and independent trackers expect ticket sales to top $30 million, but others are cautious after last weekend’s new film, the animated “Transformers One,” fell just short of expectations with a $24.6 million opening.

Based on those projections, the rave-reviewed animated adventure should take the top spot in North America from “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.” Tim Burton’s spooky sequel is a three-time box office hit, coming off a surprisingly close battle with last weekend’s newcomer “Transformers One.” “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is now in its fourth weekend of release and is expected to earn $13 million to $15 million between Friday and Sunday. Meanwhile, “Transformers One” is expected to add $12 million to $14 million in its second theatrical run.

“The Wild Robot” cost $78 million to make, so it hopes to enjoy the staying power that has benefited post-pandemic animated family films like Pixar’s “Elemental” and Illumination’s “Migration,” both of which continued to draw audiences in the months following their debuts. “The Wild Robot” has already opened at the international box office, where the film grossed $8 million in eight markets.

Lupita Nyong’o is the main voice of The Wild Robot, a sci-fi survival story about a robot named ROZZUM Unit 7134, also known as Roz, who is stranded on an uninhabited island and learns to adapt to the harsh environment. Pedro Pascal, Kit Connor, Bill Nighy, Mark Hamill and Catherine O’Hara voice the animals who befriend Roz over the course of the film. diversity Chief film critic Peter Debruge described The Wild Robot as “a beautiful computer-generated cartoon with a human heart beating beneath its sleek, ultra-modern surface.”

In limited release, director Jason Reitman’s “Saturday Night,” a dramatic look at the preparations for the first episode of “Saturday Night Live,” will open in five theaters in New York and Los Angeles. Sony will release the film — which stars Gabriel LaBelle as Lorne Michaels, Cory Michael Smith as Chevy Chase and Ella Hunt as Gilda Radner — in theaters nationwide on October 11.