32% Rotten Tomatoes Kevin Costner Drama Resurfaces as a Streaming Favorite
From Dances with Wolves and Open Range to the revival of the Western genre through Yellowstone and his passion project Horizon: An American Saga, Kevin Costner is often associated with rugged frontiers and cowboy hats. But beyond the saddle and spurs, Costner has dabbled in romance—with one lesser-remembered entry now enjoying an unexpected second life on streaming.
Released in 1999, Message in a Bottle stars Costner alongside Wonder Woman‘s Robin Wright, the late Robbie Coltrane (beloved as Hagrid in Harry Potter), and screen legend Paul Newman. Despite a lukewarm critical reception—just 32% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and 66% from audiences—the romantic drama has become a surprise hit on Tubi in 2025, 26 years after its debut.
As of July 7, Message in a Bottle ranks as the eighth most-streamed title on Tubi in the U.S., beating out Hotel Transylvania 3 and Final Destination 5. It trails just behind major titles like Titanic (#7), Scooby-Doo (2002) (#6), and Colombiana (#5), with Riddick (#4), The Quick and the Dead (#3), Pulp Fiction (#2), and Forrest Gump (#1) rounding out the top of the chart.
Box Office Performance
When it hit theaters in 1999—a landmark year in film that saw The Phantom Menace, Fight Club, Toy Story 2, and The Sixth Sense dominate the cultural conversation—Message in a Bottle struggled to stand out. It earned $52 million at the domestic box office, just 1.8 times its $30 million budget. While modest, it still managed to crack the top 50 films of the year, landing at #47, ahead of titles like South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut and The Hurricane.
Now, decades later, the film is finally getting the attention it missed out on—this time, from the comfort of viewers’ living rooms.
