“Kevin Costner Acknowledges $100M Horizon Film’s Box Office Failure, but Predicts It Will Endure”

Kevin Costner acknowledged that his film Horizon didn’t achieve “overwhelming success.” The Yellowstone actor, 69, invested a significant portion of his personal fortune into the project, which is the first in a planned series of epic westerns. He has since followed up with Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2.

At the 2024 Venice Film Festival, where the sequel had its world premiere after its original August 16 release date was postponed, Costner discussed the performance of Chapter 1. The film, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May and hit theaters in late June, received mixed reviews and earned just $11 million during its opening weekend against a $100 million budget. Costner admitted, “It didn’t have overwhelming success.”

Despite this, the Dances with Wolves star remains optimistic. “I’ve had a lot of movies that way, that have stood the test of time,” he said. He explained that the studio initially planned to release the sequel six weeks after the first film but later decided against the mid-August release. This change allowed him to attend the Venice Film Festival, as the festival would not have featured the film if it had already been in theaters.

Costner expressed his gratitude to Venice Film Festival artistic director Alberto Barbera, calling him “the biggest reason” the film was showcased. “He gave me my dream and didn’t allow it to be squashed. Venice keeps coming to my rescue,” Costner said. On Instagram, he thanked Barbera for his courage and leadership, saying, “It is with gratitude and excitement that I return to the Venice Film Festival. Long live the movies and those willing to stand for them.”

Horizon explores a multifaceted 15-year period of pre-and post-Civil War expansion and settlement in the American West.