Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Megalopolis’ cost $120 million and took decades to make. Critics say it’s a ‘spectacular catastrophe.’

• Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis” opens in theaters Friday after decades in development.
• The film, set in an imagined New York City, stars Adam Driver, Aubrey Plaza, and Giancarlo Esposito.
• It has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 51%.

The saga of Francis Ford Coppola bringing his epic new movie “Megalopolis” to the big screen is almost as long and winding as the movie itself.

The project has spent decades in development, with stars like Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio both at one point interested in appearing in it. Coppola even commissioned a symphony for the movie almost two decades before a single frame of it had been shot. After numerous false starts, Coppola finally began filming his fable in 2022 with $120 million of self-financing.

“Megalopolis” is set in an imagined New York City and follows a visionary architect named Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver) as he clashes with a corrupt mayor (Giancarlo Esposito) in his quest to rebuild the city after a devastating disaster. The movie also stars Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, and Dustin Hoffman.

Coppola’s epic has been mired in controversy since it screened at the Cannes Film Festival in May. There were allegations of on-set misconduct by Coppola, and a trailer by Lionsgate, which is releasing the movie, was pulled after it was discovered it featured fabricated quotes from critics.

The critic response to “Megalopolis” has been no less polarizing. As of publication, the film has a 51% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Here’s what critics think of the movie, which opens in theaters Friday.