Francis Ford Coppola sells his watches after ‘Megalopolis’ loses money

After selling two of his vineyards to finance his passion project “Megalopolis,” director Francis Ford Coppola auctions off some of his personal possessions to make ends meet.

The legendary filmmaker behind the films “The Godfather” and “Apocalypse Now” took a major gamble by investing more than $100 million of his own money to self-finance his latest film, “Megalopolis.” But since the film only generates more than 14 million dollars worldwide since its theatrical release last September, it has been looking for money to recoup its losses.

The answer? By auctioning off seven of its luxury watches, including one designed by Coppola and retailing for $1 million, according to the New York Times.

“I need money to keep the ship afloat,” Coppola, 86, told the Times. The auction will take place via Phillips, an auction site specializing in watches, on December 6.

The most exclusive watch Coppola sells is one he designed himself in collaboration with FP Journe, a Swiss watch company. Instead of conventional clock hands, the center features a gloved hand. The fingers disappear and reappear in varied configurations depending on the time. It costs $1 million.

Other watches include two Patek Phillipes, a Blancpain Minute Repeater, an IWC Chronograph, another FP Journe and a Breguet Classique. All range in estimated prices from $3,000 to $240,000.

Another way to make some of his money back is to license “Megalopolis” to streaming platforms, but Coppola has been reluctant to take that option, believing his epic sci-fi story set in a futuristic New York needs to be seen in theaters.

“A lot of my films turn a profit over time,” Coppola told the newspaper, citing another gamble he took decades ago when he self-financed most of “Apocalypse Now.” That film, now considered a classic, sold millions of tickets, Coppola said.

The difference is that in addition to movie tickets, “Apocalypse Now” also generated revenue for Coppola through the sale of physical copies in different viewing formats, from VHS to DVD to Blu-ray. These avenues are either defunct or significantly less profitable today, so they probably won’t play a major role in helping “Megapolis” find itself in the black.

Since the release of “Megalopolis,” Coppola has told various publications that he is broke while in pre-production on his next film, an adaptation of Edith Wharton’s novel, “Glimpses of the Moon.”

“I don’t have any money because I invested all the money I borrowed to make ‘Megalopolis,'” he said on the podcast.Tetragrammaton with Rick Rubin” in March. “It’s practically gone. I think it will come back in 15 to 20 years. »

A representative for Coppola did not respond to requests for comment.