Francis Ford Coppola Selling His Watches After Megalopolis Box Office Failure
According to CinemaDrame News Agency, Francis Ford Coppola seems to be turning into a modern-day Jacques Tati. The 86-year-old filmmaker reportedly invested over $100 million of his own money into Megalopolis (2024), which received mixed-to-negative reviews and grossed only $14 million worldwide. Now, Coppola is selling seven of his luxury watches to finance his next project.
The New York Times reports that the Godfather director co-designed one of the watches with the Swiss brand F.P. Journe in 2014, later releasing a few exclusive models for collectors in 2021.
Coppola is also auctioning off another F.P. Journe, two Patek Philippes, one Blancpain Minute Repeater, one IWC Chronograph, and one Breguet Classique—with prices ranging from $3,000 to $240,000.
Coppola previously admitted to The Times that Megalopolis left him nearly broke:
“I just need to make some money to keep the ship afloat.”
In 2021, he sold his stake in Inglenook and his wine business to finance Megalopolis after the project had been shelved for nearly two decades.
The film starred Adam Driver, Aubrey Plaza, Giancarlo Esposito, and Nathalie Emmanuel, and Coppola recently released a companion documentary titled Megadoc, chronicling the film’s turbulent production. At the start of the documentary, he asks:
“Who cares if I die broke, if I’ve made something you think is beautiful?”
In a fall 2024 interview, Coppola reflected on the fate of French director Jacques Tati, who died penniless:
“It was long after his death that people realized Playtime was a masterpiece… If I’m to win any award, let it be the Jacques Tati Award.”
Coppola’s next project, titled Distant Vision, will be inspired by Thomas Mann’s Buddenbrooks and is set to be filmed in Italy.
