How Francis Ford Coppola Really Lost So Much Of His Money

Francis Ford Coppola is known as one of the most legendary filmmakers of all time, helming many beloved classic films like "The Godfather," "The Godfather Part II," and "Apocalypse Now." Although, despite his world-renowned status, Coppola has reportedly lost a high percentage of his wealth, mainly due to the fact that his dream movie project was a major flop.

Since the late 70s, Coppola had been dreaming up the beginnings of what would eventually become "Megalopolis," a box-office disaster and virtually disliked sci-fi epic from 2024 starring Adam Driver. Coppola set out to have the film financed in 1989, but couldn't find backing from studios due to his recent floundering at the box office with several ill-received titles. He made attempts again in 2001, but the film was not picked up because of uncomfortable parallels to the 9/11 tragedy within the script. Eventually, the groundbreaking filmmaker decided that he would finance the project with his own funds. 

Coppola went into the wine-making business in order to produce enough money to self-finance "Megalopolis," and it worked. The director, who is also Nicolas Cage's uncle, ended up investing $120 million of his own funds into producing the movie. "Megalopolis" was released theatrically on September 27, 2024, and only pulled in $14.4 million, with Coppola losing over $100 million of his own money and the film becoming one of the director's lowest-grossing movies ever. 

Famed film director Francis Ford Coppola lost a large amount of his personal money after the release of "Megalopolis," and he has never truly recovered. The "Bram Stoker's Dracula" director has gone to drastic measures to try to make back his lost funds, including auctioning off some of his specialty watches from iconic watchmaker François-Paul Journe. The auction will be held by Phillips, a major auction house, in NYC on December 6 and 7, 2025, and it will feature seven unique watches once owned by Coppola, including a specialty prototype he created with F.P. Journe.  

The Journe-created watch, which is worth approximately $1 million, was first conceived of in 2012 when the two men had a meal together at Coppola's home. "Coppola asked Journe whether in all of human history a timepiece had been made using a hand to indicate the time," Phillips deputy chairman stated, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "That led to an ongoing dialogue as they worked together to figure out how a hand could be used to indicate 12 hours; how do you get 12 digits out of five fingers?" The innovative watch was finished in 2021, and now, it will hopefully be an item that gets Coppola back into a better financial spot. 

The five-time Oscar-winning director has also reportedly ended his lease of Coral Caye, a private island in Belize. Coral Caye was an important part of Family Coppola Hideaways, the filmmaker's privately owned luxury hotel brand. Coppola is reportedly unhappy that the lease has ended, but it seems that this is the best move for him financially.