How Kevin Costner’s Ego Has Cost Him Significantly
When discussing the confidence of mediocre white men, Kevin Costner often comes to mind. Don’t get me wrong—he’s not entirely without merit. Costner has directed and starred in some excellent films, including my personal favorites: Tin Cup, For Love of the Game, Bull Durham, and Field of Dreams.
The issue arises when Costner lacks a guiding voice to say, “Hey, maybe this isn’t the best idea.” That’s how we ended up with Waterworld and The Postman, a three-hour post-apocalyptic story about a mail carrier. To his credit, few can crash and burn quite like Costner, and he’s also delivered several underrated gems like A Perfect World, The Company Men, and The Upside of Anger.
With Horizon: An American Saga, however, Costner seems to have seriously misjudged the public’s interest in him. He assumed his role in Yellowstone was the sole reason for its success and decided to create not one, but four movies in a genre that hasn’t resonated at the box office in years, especially internationally. Selling a 12-hour saga about the Old West to countries like France and Japan is a tall order, given their general disinterest in Westerns and the current global sentiment toward the U.S.
Costner invested tens of millions of his own money into this film and managed to secure an additional $50 million from a backer. Unfortunately, his ambitious vision has hit a wall. The first installment, with a budget of around $100 million, has only pulled in about $22 million at the box office and is already slated for VOD release just two weeks after its theatrical debut.
His plan to generate ticket sales, build momentum for VOD, and launch part two in August has failed. Consequently, Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 2 has been pulled from theaters.
“Territory Pictures and New Line Cinema have decided to hold off on releasing Horizon: Chapter 2 on August 16 to allow more audiences to discover the first installment, both in theaters and on PVOD and MAX. We appreciate our exhibition partners for their ongoing support as viewers across the U.S. experience the film,” the producers stated. In simpler terms: “We’re cutting our losses.”
I doubt we’ll see part two in theaters, and part three, which is already in production, may soon be halted to prevent further financial loss for investors. However, one thing is clear: don’t count Costner out. He often finds his best footing after a humbling experience.
