Actor Nicolas Cage has been forced to stay in hotels after a massive sinkhole opened up on his Malibu property, as NBC News reported. The coastal disruption ruined his usual home plans for the Halloween season and left him navigating temporary living arrangements.
Speaking at a fan panel during Los Angeles Comic Con over the weekend, Cage addressed his current housing situation while discussing his plans for the holiday. He told the audience at the panel that he is presently living out of hotels due to an incident at his coastal residence, meaning he would miss out on welcoming his usual trick-or-treaters at home. A fan video captured his comments during the event.
The disruption stems from a major geological event that took place along the Southern California coast in September. A massive sinkhole formed in the driveway of Cage's Malibu home, prompting local authorities to launch an investigation into what triggered the ground beneath the property to give way.
Footage of the scene showed a deep crater in the driveway that appeared to swallow up whatever was sitting on top of the pavement. While aerial imaging clearly displayed the extensive destruction to the driveway area, it remained unclear from the imagery whether the structural integrity of the main house itself suffered damage.
According to an emergency proclamation issued by the city of Malibu, the ground collapse began to take shape on Sept. 7 before fully emerging on Sept. 8. City records detail the scale of the collapse, noting that the crater measured between 25 and 30 feet deep, with a surface area spanning 30 feet wide by 60 feet long.
Beyond the damage to Cage's specific property, the sudden ground failure impacted numerous neighboring residents along the street. Municipal officials reported that the incident triggered a gas leak in the immediate area, though fortunately no injuries were reported as a result of the collapse or the gas exposure.
The emergency proclamation noted that local authorities red-tagged seven homes in the neighborhood due to hazardous conditions directly caused by the sinkhole. An additional 24 homes were also red-tagged by officials because residents lost safe vehicular access to their properties. Utility crews were forced to shut off natural gas services across the affected area to ensure public safety while responders assessed the damage.
The day after the full collapse, municipal officials announced that the housing association managing the neighborhood would take charge of the repair operations. City representatives estimated that the necessary restoration work would take approximately five weeks to finish, though they noted that the timeline remained dependent on local site conditions and weather.
Representatives for Cage did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding his living situation, and it remains uncertain precisely how many weeks he has been away from the house or when safety officials will clear him to return to the property.
The city of Malibu has not released updated public statements regarding the ongoing repairs or the official cause of the collapse, and municipal offices did not immediately respond to inquiries seeking further information about the neighborhood's recovery status.
