October 25 will mark 62 years since the release of the first film directed by Francis Ford Coppola: “Come on Out” (later retitled “Tonight for Sure”), a re-edited feature version of three different shorter nudie films he made while a film student at UCLA. It debuted in 1962, right in the middle of the Cuban missile crisis.
With “Megalopolis” opening, he likely has the longest feature film directorial career ever, ahead of Manoel de Oliveira (61 years), Jean-Luc Godard (58), and Frederick Wiseman (56). Clint Eastwood, whose latest film “Juror #2” premieres next month, spans a mere 53 as a director.
To sustain a career that long necessitates a lot of success, which Coppola has had, led by “The Godfather.” But it has been a perilous journey, elongated (“Megalopolis” the most extreme) by his willingness to spend money to keep directing. Of note, his last studio-financed film was “The Rainmaker,” 27 years — and nearly half his career — ago.
Calculating adjusted box office from before 1980 is tricky, but the grosses below should roughly convey the estimated rounded-off results of his feature releases. They vary in profitability, and this ranking is from U.S./Canada results (international, again, is far more difficult to be certain of) but at least suggests degrees of popularity.
Major Hits
“The Godfather” (1972) — #1 film of 1972, #25 all time, $825 million
“Apocalypse Now” (1979) — #6 film of 1979, $350 million
“The Godfather Part II” (1974) — #4 film of 1974, $300 million
“Bram Stoker’s Dracula” (1992) — #9 film of 1992, $200 million
Successes ($100 million+ Gross)
“The Godfather Part III (1990) — $175 million
“Jack” (1996) — $150 million
“Peggy Sue Got Married” (1986) — $120 million
“The Outsiders” (1983) — $100 million
“Finian’s Rainbow” (1968) — $100 million ($31 million budget, reported worldwide gross around $120 million)
“The Conversation” (1974) — $30 million ($12 million budget)
Studio-Financed Failures
“The Rainmaker” (1997) — $100 million
“Cotton Club” (1984) — $85 million
“Tucker: A Man and His Dream” (1988) — $60 million
“Gardens of Stone” (1987) — $18 million
“Rumblefish” (1983) — $10 million
“You’re a Big Boy Now” (1966) — $10 million
“The Rain People” (1969) — $8 million
Unknown, Low-Budget
“Come On Out” (1962)
“Dementia 13” (1963)
Late-Career Personal Projects (with At Least Some Personal Financing)
“Youth Without Youth” (2007) — $500,000
“Tetro” (2009) — $1 million
“Twixt” (2011) — unreleased theatrically in the U.S.
This rough sorting out of his 24 features (not counting his omnibus “New York Stories” contribution) gives a sense of how, at least until 1997, Coppola could make films despite some financial failures along the way. A chronological survey suggests survival skills, lucky timing, but most interestingly an ability to adjust to an evolving industry. And it didn’t hurt that he also had major successes producing and writing films made by other directors.
His inauspicious start with nudies and a Roger Corman-produced entry feature (“Dementia 13,” released as Coppola’s second feature by American International Pictures) helped, but it was his work as a screenwriter that got backing for “You’re a Big Boy” in 1966. His first two big studio writing credits were for “This Property Is Condemned” and “Is Paris Burning?,” impressive for someone in his mid-20s, just ahead of the movie youth revolution.
“Big Boy” (a precursor to “The Graduate”) performed modestly, but it showed his ability to bring in a film on budget. A Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for Geraldine Page didn’t hurt. Warners took a leap of faith assigning him to “Finian’s Rainbow,” the long-gestating movie version of the race-themed 1940s Broadway musical.
Reports vary as to how successful it was, but any profit came from how much less Coppola made “Finian’s Rainbow” for than other musicals of the era. Warners reportedly was impressed enough to offer him “Mame,” a bigger musical (per “On the Edge” by Michael Goodwin and Naomi Wise).
It did lead to Warners backing “The Rain People,” a road movie with Shirley Knight as a pregnant wife who leaves her husband temporarily. It got respectable but mixed reviews and little business, but more than his past films, “The Rain People” showed his potential with actors (the cast included both James Caan and Robert Duvall) and intense dramatic scenes.
His involvement with “The Godfather” came from Paramount wanting a young director, Coppola’s proven economy in studio work, and his Italian background. But key also was the success of “Patton,” which he co-wrote with Edmund H. North and which opened in early 1970 (he had done his writing years earlier). The war epic became a huge hit and eventual Oscar winner and was unimpeachably mainstream but with an edge. (His double duty as “Godfather” screenwriter also helped).
“The Godfather” grossed twice the very big “Patton” and became at the time one of the top 10 biggest films of all time, grossing the most since “The Graduate.” It started his most fertile period. His long-time dream project “The Conversation” was backed by Paramount on a small budget, with a small profit, a Cannes Palme d’Or win, and a Best Picture nomination along with eventual acclaim (though less so initially).
“The Godfather Part II” did less than half the business of its predecessor, but still was a huge hit (and, like the first, a Best Picture winner). By this time, he had won five Oscars for three films in five years, along with a box office record that also included producing his friend George Lucas’ sleeper smash “American Graffiti.”
Whatever the well-detailed production history of “Apocalypse Now,” it was profitable, grossing three times its budget worldwide (with about half back to United Artists and Coppola), with multiple reissues and even a revised version (“Apocalypse Now Redux”) in 2003 that had a full theatrical release. Its success led to another risk, but this time, it didn’t work.
The self-financed (and recently recut and re-released) “One from the Heart” cost around $85 million (2024 rates) but grossed less than only a few million dollars adjusted worldwide.
That led to a 15-year period where Coppola became mainly a studio director for hire, with some personal projects included. He recovered initially with “The Outsiders,” the original Brat Pack movie (and an early Tom Cruise success). Its success became critical in restoring his box office viability.
What followed was an uneven trajectory with mostly high-end productions. “Peggy Sue Got Married,” “The Godfather Part III” (though not close to its predecessors), “Jack,” and in particular “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” were all hits. When a film missed financially, at least in most cases, it was an honorable failure (“Cotton Club,” “Tucker: A Man and His Dreams,” “Gardens of Stone”).
This varied output has contributed to the sense of Coppola as an enigma, with his incredible 1970s work set apart from the rest of his films. It ended with “The Rainmaker,” an expensive John Grisham adaptation that, despite good reviews and Matt Damon in an early big role, failed to replicate the success of “The Firm.” Paramount opened it the month before James Cameron’s “Titanic,” which turned out to be even bigger than “The Godfather” and marked a turn toward event-driven films rather than the more conventional dramas Coppola was mostly known for.
With a combination of low-budget skills honed from his early days, financial independence from his film success, and other investments in real estate and vineyards, he transitioned to what has so far yielded only a minor response. At its worst, “Megalopolis” — and expectations are for its ultimate domestic take to struggle to get much beyond $20 million at best — will by far be his biggest gross since “The Rainmaker.” If “Megalopolis” is his final film, at least he goes out on his own terms after a great overall career that, at its height, has never been exceeded for its combination of financial and high-end reputation success.
