“Megalopolis,” directed by Francis Ford Coppola, Is Approaching French Distribution Agreement With Independent Banner Le Pacte
Francis Ford Coppola’s 135-minute epic “Megalopolis,” which is preparing for its global debut in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, is expected to be acquired by Le Pacte, a French distributor.
The independent business is presently negotiating a contract under the direction of seasoned French distributor Jean Labadie. Considering Le Pacte’s relatively small stature, it seems like an unlikely fit for such an expensive film. The business may not be able to afford to spend much on P&A, despite recent successes like Maiwenn’s “Jeanne du Barry” and Justine Triet’s “Anatomy of a Fall.” Industry sources claim that Coppola’s attorney Barry Hirsch, who also functioned as a producer, has been pursuing studios and streaming services in an attempt to get a big contract that would commit P&A to almost half of the movie’s $120 million budget. The picture, which Coppola self-financed, may not be picked up by a studio for a global agreement, according to the forthcoming arrangement with Le Pacte. In addition to the P&A commitment, the producers’ demand—which includes Coppola’s—for half of the film’s earnings, even in France, has put off potential purchasers.
Since the movie is making its competitive premiere at Cannes, Variety stated that securing a French distributor in advance of the festival is imperative. As per Cannes’ regulation, which mandates that every film in competition have local theatrical distribution, even if the picture ends up selling to a streamer, it will need a theatrical release in France. Following a major controversy caused by the 2017 competitive screenings of two Netflix films, Bong Joon Ho’s “Okja” and Noah Baumbach’s “The Meyerowitz Stories,” the Cannes Film Festival board first instituted that stringent rule. Netflix has been showcasing its films at the Venice Film Festival instead of Cannes since then. It’s reasonable to believe Netflix isn’t in the race to acquire “Megalopolis” given that the movie is set to be sold to Le Pacte. Because of local windowing regulations that mandate the streaming service wait 15 months after a theatrical launch before making a picture accessible to its customers, the streamer never distributes its films in French cinemas. The companies who released Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” in cinemas via Paramount and gave it its Cannes premiere—Amazon or Apple—may still be contenders.
Coppola is among the many renowned directors who will be present at the Cannes Film Festival. Other notable attendees include George Miller, whose film “Furiosa,” starring Anya Taylor-Joy, and George Lucas, who will get an honorary Palme d’Or.
