Francis Ford Coppola ‘s “ Megalopolis ” is bringing in some extra help for the lead-up to its theatrical release — and the “Godfather” auteur didn’t even have to look outside his own family for it. The self-financed sci-fi epic, which premiered at Cannes and is set to play the Toronto International Film Festival next month before Lionsgate releases it on September 27, has enlisted Utopia to assist with the film ‘s rollout. The boutique distributor, which was founded by Coppola’s nephew Robert Schwartzman, will collaborate with Lionsgate to provide alternative marketing services to help the film reach younger audiences.
Per a press release, Utopia will aid Lionsgate’s rollout of the film with a series of “specialty marketing, word-of-mouth, and non-traditional theatrical distribution initiatives.” Since its founding in 2019, Utopia has carved out a niche for itself as a distributor of challenging independent films, often with a genre slant, that are produced on very low budgets. Early reviews suggest that “Megalopolis” fits two thirds of those criteria — while its reported $120 million budget puts it in line with four-quadrant studio blockbusters, its substance appears more in line with the avant-garde sensibilities of Utopia hits like “Divinity” and “We’re All Going to the World’s Fair.
” As Coppola and Lionsgate figure out how to sell a film that seems to relish its own unapproachability to mass audiences, Utopia could be key to getti.