Last week, Apple TV had a page indicating “Megalopolis” was finally being released in the U.S. on VOD Thursday. That page is gone, and here we are, six days later, and it’s still not available to stream.
I’ve inquired with a few people about this, and being told that Coppola decided to nix the digital release at the last minute, potentially because he’s plans to theatrically re-release his new “weirder” cut of “Megalopolis” in theaters as early as this year, possibly around the holiday season.
Back in May, it had been announced that Megalopolis” would be pulled from every VOD platform, but that it also wouldn’t be receiving a 4K home release in North America.
A THR report claimed this decision stemmed directly from Coppola himself. It was reportedly his personal choice to neither pursue nor accept a distribution deal that would allow audiences to view the film at home; he felt strongly that “Megalopolis” should not be screened on a television screen.
“He wants it to play in theaters, the way it was intended,” said one insider.
Instead of opting for a digital rollout, Coppola took “Megalopolis” on tour this summer, on a six-city tour which include these wildly off-the-cuff post-screening Q&As with Coppola alone on-stage.
The holiday release would make sense. Coppola had previously expressed a desire for “Megalopolis” to become a new annual-viewing tradition—comparable to how “It’s a Wonderful Life” is watched every year during the holidays.
Indeed, Coppola specifically said that he wants “Megalopolis” to be watched once a year forever, much like the Frank Capra classic—a sentiment that suggests a tradition of revisiting the film annually. This tradition might begin as early as this year.